Brake supplier not taking blame for Vettel spin

Red Bull brake supplier Brembo has issued a statement to clarify that its products did not cause Sebastian Vettel’s retirement in Melbourne.

Pole sitter Vettel, 22, spun out of the Australian GP and said immediately on the radio that the RB6 had suffered "braking failure".

In the team’s subsequent press release, the German said only that he had "some sort of failure" with the front left wheel, with boss Christian Horner adding that the problem was a "wheel related issue".

We then reported that a late night post-race analysis in the Albert Park garage showed that the wheel mounting had been damaged due to a vibrating wheel nut.

But unlike in Bahrain, where Red Bull publicly clarified that a failed spark plug rather than a broken exhaust had affected Vettel’s car, the team did not issue a press release to confirm the report.

With other publications still repeating Vettel’s early claim that the brakes were the culprit, Brembo issued a press release on Tuesday.

"Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Sebastian Vettel retired from the Australian grand prix after the torque drive between the front left axle and wheel was lost," read the release.

The Italian company also said Vettel’s wheel nut had been "correctly tightened at the pitstop".