[MikeNoun]

Pirelli said some teams had deliberately put tires intended for the right rear of the car on the left, had run them at lower pressures than recommended by the manufacturer and used extreme cambers for performance advantage. However, it shouldered some of the blame for these practices. "Mounting the tires the wrong way round is a practice that was nonetheless underestimated by everybody: above all Pirelli, which did not forbid this," said the statement.

This is interesting. So the comment I made earlier, about how each tire is made for a specific corner of the car, seemed to be ignored by some teams as they switched the rears L to R.

Definitely a serious situation at the speeds these cars are traveling. The fact that the driver is exposed to any carbon fiber shards that may be throw when a tire explodes makes this especially dangerous. I guess all things considered though, this could have been much worse. Imagine if the front R or L tire exploded the way these left rear tires exploded. Pieces of tire may have flown into the drivers helmet, not to mention the tire ripping up the side pod, or radiator diffusers and aero flippers, throwing carbon fiber shards into the driver.

And we should start a poll as to who will take over Mark Webber's seat, now that he's officially announced his retirement. I'm still wondering if Red Bull will lure Kimi away from Lotus. I believe Raikkonen has an option in his contract that ends in Sept 2013, and with Webber now officially retiring, hmmmm....

Maybe Shumie will come out of retirement.