Following a scintillating Silverstone occasion, we should have been talking about the heroics of Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber or Paul Di Resta, all of whom lit up the British Grand Prix in different ways.

Yet, instead, the issue on everybody's lips at the climax of proceedings was tyres, or, more specifically, Pirelli tyres, which have now been involved in so many damaging incidents during the 2013 campaign that not even Alistair Campbell would be able to spin some positive publicity for the company.

It shouldn't be rocket science for a manufacturer with their budget to have the capacity to devise a product which doesn't fall to pieces in the heat of battle, but the evidence has stacked up with such unrelenting consistency in recent months that not even Perry Mason could protest Pirelli's innocence. The British GP was packed with thrills, twists and dramatic racing, but the bottom line is that the tyres were simply not up to the task and they are not only ruining drivers' ambitions, but putting lives at risk: a situation which should not be tolerated in any sport, and definitely not one which is awash with cash and boasts about the fashion in which it embraces the latest technological innovations.

Yet, by the denouement of yesterday's action, it was impossible to argue with the statistic there have now been 20 tyre failures so far this season. In advance of the annual trip to Northamptonshire, Pirelli, conscious that they were becoming synonymous with the dread words "tyre degradation", confirmed they had introduced a new bonding process for the race, in an attempt to prevent a series of "delaminations" which had plagued their products at previous venues. No doubt, they were sincere in insisting they had acted urgently to prevent any recurrence of the spate of screw-ups which had blighted previous events, but whatever they tried to remedy the situation, it failed dismally to work.

Problems proliferated from the outset and one shudders to think what might have happened if these F1 drivers didn't possess such superb reflexes and technical mastery of their cars. One after another, there were failures, all but one of the left-rear of the vehicles involved, and they had an impact on the outcome, which extended beyond the regular appearance of the safety car, as the same problems befell Hamilton, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, and McLaren's Sergio Perez, the latter of whom had also suffered a similar failure during his final practice session. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was also a fifth failure, this time of the left-front tyre, on the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez while it subsequently emerged that reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, of Red Bull, and the grand prix winner, Rosberg, of Mercedes, were among a number of other competitors whose teams discovered were on the verge of tyre failure when they took them off during their pit stops.

Essentially, it was a systemic malfunction and the FIA will have to intervene and either demand guarantees – which Pirelli are unlikely to be able to satisfy – or the governing body should rule that their products are not fit for purpose. Where that would leave F1 is unclear – although one suspects there are others who could do a better job – but persisting with the status quo is no longer an option for those who reign in the pit and paddock.

"The issue definitely needs to be looked into, because there were too many [incidents] today," said Rosberg, at the post-race press conference. Meanwhile, the McLaren managing director, Jonathan Neale added the only words which really matter: "We have to ensure that racing is safe. We just can't afford instantaneous failures like this."

It genuinely is that straight-forward. Pirelli have been granted sufficient opportunities to rectify the glitches, but things are actually getting worse and once the participants lose confidence in such basic commodities as tyres, no excuses will suffice. It is time for the FIA to show some decisive leadership and find a new supplier.