Pirelli has revealed it discovered cuts on several of its F1 tyre sets after Friday’s on-track action in Qatar.<\/p>\n
The findings were made after sprint qualifying, leading to fresh concerns over the tyre structure for the remainder of the race weekend.<\/p>\n
Pirelli has already imposed a maximum of 25 laps for each tyre set for the event due to the excessive wear it is anticipating around the Lusail circuit.<\/p>\n
It outlined the measure is different to the limitations imposed at the 2023 event, which stemmed from the tyres being cut by kerbs that have since been modified.<\/p>\n
The cuts for this year’s event, Pirelli noted, are being caused by the gravel that drivers ran across and deposited on the racing line while seeking lap time on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had several cuts on the thread, all the corners affected,\u201d Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra told media including RacingNews365.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is mainly due to the gravel traps that we have here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe circuit added three or four strips compared to last year. The drivers, when they are pushing to the limit, they are bringing some gravel onto the racing line. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen some quite deep gravel cuts. Some of them were very deep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to take into account any possible implications during the sprint or during the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berra asserted consistent running across the gravel will likely result in a puncture, sparking concern for the sprint race and grand prix later this weekend – however, he noted drivers will not push the limits as aggressively in the longer race sessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve seen a couple of cuts that were quite deep, they reached the construction,\u201d Berra said. \u201cThey didn’t cut any cords, luckily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously, if you expose the construction and you pass continuously on this gravel, then you can risk to have to have a puncture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey stay more on track during the sprint and race. So it could be less of a concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously we want to keep our eyes open on this matter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While gravel is a common track limits deterrent across the calendar, it has not been an area of concern when it comes to tyre health.<\/p>\n
Berra highlighted the gravel used in Qatar differs from other tracks, noting its sharper points that have not been rounded off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s quite sharp because it has generated these cuts quite easily,\u201d said Berra. \u201cIt seems sharper than other circuits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pirelli has revealed it discovered cuts on several of its F1 tyre sets after Friday’s on-track action in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3518,3521,3519,3522,3520,3517,3515,3513,3516,3514,111,139,69,3512,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-159531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-daniel-ricciardo","9":"tag-f1-calendar","10":"tag-f1-live","11":"tag-f1-results","12":"tag-f1-standings","13":"tag-ferrari","14":"tag-formula-1","15":"tag-lewis-hamilton","16":"tag-max-verstappen","17":"tag-motorsport","18":"tag-new-zealand","19":"tag-newzealand","20":"tag-nz","21":"tag-racing","22":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}