Rosberg's Mercedes car suffers tyre failure at 200 mph during Pirelli test

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg had reportedly suffered a tyre failure while driving at 200 mph during a private test for Italian tyre giants Pirelli at Bahrain.

The German's team is among four teams, including Red Bull, Ferrari and Toro Rosso, helping Formula One supplier Pirelli with development work in the Gulf state this week.

According to the BBC, Rosberg had posted on Twitter that he had 'spun straight' at a full speed of 320 km/h in Bahrain as his tyre blew up without warning, although the tweet was deleted within a few minutes of being posted.

A Pirelli statement said that the tyre tests in Bahrain regarded a number of prototypes with the aim of developing suitable solutions for the next season, adding that the prototype, which had been fitted in Rosberg's car, had only been tested in the laboratory and which will not be proposed again.

The statement further said that the safety of the tyres, which will be supplied for the next championship, is not in question, although it added that the accident is being investigated and the findings will be communicated to the FIA and the teams.

The report mentioned that Pirelli asked for the test because it is concerned that the greater torque of the new turbo engines will put more demands on the tyres and it wants to avoid the problems it suffered this year.

Pirelli needed to change the design of its tyres in the middle of the season following a series of dramatic failures, culminating in six issues at the British Grand Prix, the report added.