Oct.7 (GMM) Niki Lauda on Sunday said McLaren and Lewis Hamilton are jointly to blame for the British championship leader's retirement from the Chinese grand prix.

Close inspection of the 22-year-old's rear tyres after he beached the car in the pit lane gravel trap showed not only that they were worn, but completely exposing the canvas lining.

Triple world champion Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL that the team had clearly left him out on the circuit with the damaged tyres for too long.

"The driver is of course guilty if he goes off in the pit entrance," said the Austrian legend.

"But the team must absolutely bear the blame as well because they had left him out there."

Lauda pointed out that the exposed canvas on Hamilton's right tyre, particularly, was clearly visible on the television monitors.

Hamilton told reporters after retiring that he had made a driving mistake, but McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh said it had been the team's decision not to change the tyres.

"We didn't want to come in and get on the wrong tyre," the Briton told ITV, referring to the extremely changeable weather.