Concerns over tire problems at the Losail circuit led to changes to the track boundaries at Turns 12 and 13 on Saturday, with the FIA considering requiring teams to make a minimum of three pit stops per race.
The reason for such steps was microdamage to tires discovered on Friday, caused by curbs with a pyramidal structure. Some other championship circuits also have curbs with a similar design, but there are no problems with tires there. The head of the Pirelli racing division, Mario Isola, explained why problems were discovered in Qatar.
Mario Isola: “We saw signs of damage to the side structure of the tire: a small delamination between the carcass and the rubber layer. After an in-depth analysis, we found out that this is due to a high impact or repeated impact of something on the tire. We believe this is due to the impact on the curb.
It’s not just about the geometry of the curb, as such curbs are used on many other routes. It’s a matter of speed and time spent on the sidewalk. In Qatar, racers drive over curbs all lap long and at very high speeds. This leads to damage to the tire structure.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
