Sebastian Vettel insists GPDA statement shouldn't be viewed as a boycott 'threat'

World Champion Sebastian Vettel has insisted that F1 drivers didn't threaten to boycott the German GP if there was a repeat of the Silverstone blowouts at the Nurburgring.

Yet while neither session featured the type of failures that blighted Sunday's race at Silverstone, the increased tyre pressures which Pirelli have asked all the teams to employ coincided with the drivers experiencing severe graining on their rear tyres - particularly the softs. "It looks a little bit high maintenance to be honest," said Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. "The medium looks a little bit more acceptable for the race. "Pirelli have done what they can and gone back to tyres they know work here. It's impossible to tell how they will affect the performance of the car - but it feels comfortable so far." Judging by the length of stints the teams were able to run before suffering a sharp-drop off in pace, Sunday's race may well be divided into a three-stopper with the cars pitting as early as lap five to swap the faster but brittle softs for the slower but more durable medium compound.