Formula 1 could mandate a minimum of three pitstops for Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix after the discovery of a tyre wear issue following Friday practice at the Lusail venue.
The championship’s sporting body, the FIA, has announced that “a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords” was discovered by F1’s tyre supplier Pirelli on tyres that had been used for around 20 laps after the sole practice session of the weekend.
The FIA and Pirelli say that putting further mileage on tyre compounds “could result in circumferential damage of the tyres with subsequent air loss”, and they believe the ‘pyramid’ kerbs installed at the venue – and more specifically “the high-frequency interference” between the tyre sidewall and these kerbs – is the culprit.
F1 has now delayed Saturday’s sprint race in Qatar, which is due to span 19 laps, by 20 minutes in order to fit in a 10-minute mini-practice session at the original start time.
This is because it is revising track limits at the high-speed Turn 11 and Turn 12, presumably in an effort to minimise tyre contact with the kerbing at those spots.
However, if the issue is still evident following a post-sprint analysis, the FIA will mandate that tyre sets are not taken beyond a 22-lap total lifespan at any point in Sunday’s 59-lap race.
That number will be 20 laps for fresh sets, with the extra two allowed for those sets that had already been used earlier in the weekend, to account for inlaps and outlaps.
It will also mandate “three tyre-changing pitstops”, meaning teams would be further discouraged from trying to stretch sets close to that 20/22-lap limit.
Keyword: Major Qatar GP tyre worry as F1 could mandate three-stop