McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has promised a thorough investigation into the tyre blow-out which cost Lewis Hamilton a second-place finish in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Hamilton was on course for a podium place behind eventual winner Mark Webber in Barcelona before a failure of his front left tyre just two laps from the finish cost him dearly.

Hamilton should have ended the race just one point behind team-mate Jenson Button at the top of the drivers' standings, but was instead left to rue the loss of 18 valuable world championship points.

"For Lewis, it was just one of those days," explained Whitmarsh. "He drove brilliantly, an impressively disciplined yet excitingly combative performance.

"He posted the fastest lap of the race on his way to what would have been a richly deserved second place had he not been forced to retire within spitting distance of the chequered flag.

"The parts will now be meticulously analysed back at the McLaren Technology Centre.

"Until we've done that we won't be able to make any definitive statements about what we think it was that caused the problem."

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