Brake supplier denies failure caused Vettel’s exit

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LONDON: Red Bull’s brake supplier Brembo has ruled out failure of its system as a cause of Sebastian Vettel’s Australian Grand Prix retirement.The Italian manufacturer said in a statement on Tuesday that the German’s exit at the weekend, while leading from pole position, “was not caused by the braking system supplied by Brembo”.

It added the Formula One team had confirmed to the company that the 22-year-old retired after the torque drive between the front left axle and wheel was lost.

Vettel has started both races this season from pole position but has yet to finish on the podium after suffering problems while leading.

He said after Sunday’s race in Melbourne that he had seen sparks from the left front wheel and felt huge vibrations building up.

“As soon as I touched the brakes I had some sort of failure going in to turn 13 and ended up in the gravel,” added Vettel.

In the Bahrain season-opener a faulty spark plug costing no more than a couple of dollars cost the German victory and he finished fourth. — Reuters