Tyre and technique perception
With groups solely permitted to make use of a brand new set of tyres for a most of 18 laps throughout final yr’s Qatar Grand Prix – after Pirelli raised issues over tyre interactions with the kerbs resulting in a separation within the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords – Pirelli and the FIA have labored collectively to make sure that there’s not a repeat of this in 2024.
Pirelli’s race weekend preview explains: “The pyramid-shaped kerbs have had their suggestions rounded off at seven of the monitor’s 16 corners: the primary two after the beginning, Turns 4 and 10 and the three from 12 to 14, the part that had most careworn the edges of the tyres.
READ MORE: What tyres will the groups and drivers have for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix?
“Engineers within the Pirelli Motorsport R&D division have carried out in depth and prolonged assessments on the dynamic take a look at beds in Milan, utilizing a pattern of the brand new kerbs provided by the FIA. Moreover, the engineers additionally analysed tyres from assessments carried out by some Components 1 groups in latest weeks on the Lusail circuit, operating pre-2024 automobiles.
“Regardless that the tyres have been clearly not an identical to these from the 2024 vary, the acquired knowledge has nonetheless been helpful to substantiate the outcomes of simulations and the indications from the take a look at mattress. It must also be famous that the FIA has ensured {that a} gravel strip is added to the surface of some kerbs to dissuade drivers from overstepping the mark in an effort to go faster.
“[Graining] may have a major influence on race technique with the tyres presumably affected by vital thermal degradation. Moreover, there are so few precedents to those circumstances that for now it’s unattainable to make predictions.
“Leaving apart the occasions of 2023, it needs to be remembered that, in 2021, some drivers solely made one pit cease and others, like Hamilton and Verstappen who completed first and second, fought for the win operating a two-stop technique.
“Whereas preserving in thoughts that 2021 featured automobiles from the earlier era, subsequently with very totally different tyre compounds, there have been many various selections made when it comes to compounds used, as certainly was the case in final yr’s Dash when 12 drivers began on the medium and eight on the smooth.”
FAN VIEW: Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is seen as a possible contender to earn a spot on the rostrum in Qatar, in response to F1 Play avid gamers, as is future Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri – who has two Grand Prix wins to his title this season and was runner-up on this race final yr – can also be effectively supported.
