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Sebastian Vettel suffers tyre explosion to end Austrian GP hopes

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Sebastian Vettel suffered an extraordinary tyre blowout on the start straight during the Austrian GP, sending him in to the barriers.

Sebastian Vettel's hopes of securing a first win of 2016 in Austria were ended after his right-rear tyre exploded as he started Lap 27.

Running both cars on the supersofts, Ferrari brought team-mate Kimi Raikkonen into the pits but kept the German out to see him leading the race.

Lewis wins epic Austrian GP
Lewis wins epic Austrian GP

Lewis Hamilton clashed with Nico Rosberg on the last lap on the way to victory in Spielberg.

But as Vettel was making his way up the start/finish straight he suffered a tyre blowout, spinning his SF16-H into the wall. Nico Rosberg, following the four-time world champion, was lucky to avoid the Ferrari as it reversed slowly across the track.

"I think the rear right exploded," Vettel said on team radio. "Nothing I can do - sorry guys."

He added to Sky F1: "There was no sign of a failure, all the pressures were the same as the laps before."

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"They'd done almost 30 laps on those tyres," noted Sky F1's Martin Brundle. "You'd expect them to lose performance, not fall apart."

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