Maximum stint lengths will be imposed at Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix, which will force teams to make at least two pitstops.
As previously reported by The Race, tyre supplier Pirelli was in conversations with teams and the FIA about effectively making the race a mandatory two-stop on safety grounds.
After an 18-lap maximum stint was imposed in 2023, last year’s Qatar GP was opened up and became a one-stop for several drivers despite high wear levels causing damage to the carcass of the tyres.
Unlike in 2023, when the stint length was limited due to problems arising in practice, this time discussions have been ongoing for some time in response to what happened in the 2024 race.
READ MORE: Why F1 forcing two-stop races risks making things worse
Last year, extreme wear and damage sustained by repeated kerb strikes on corner exits at high speeds caused punctures for both Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.
Pirelli says that “several tyres, particularly the left front, had reached the maximum wear level” and the “structural fatigue of the construction” had been increased.
It has been agreed that for 2025, a 25-lap maximum stint will be imposed. The laps will include those run during safety car or virtual safety car conditions but do not count laps to the ground, formation laps, or laps completed after the chequered flag.
The Qatar GP will be 57 laps long which means drivers will be forced to change tyres at least twice and before the start of the race Pirelli will inform the teams how many laps are still available for each set.
Pirelli is taking the hardest compounds in the range to Qatar, the C1, C2 and C3. It is a sprint weekend so each driver will have two sets of hards (C1), four sets of mediums (C2) and six sets of softs (C3).
