Pirelli is in discussions with Formula 1 teams and the FIA about the possibility of making the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix a mandatory two-stop race for safety reasons.
How this would be implemented has not yet been finalised, but would most likely be achieved through the imposition of a mandatory stint length, forcing the 57-lap race to be divided into at least three separate runs.
Pirelli F1 chief engineer Simone Berra confirmed that “we are speaking with the FIA, with the teams, with F1 and we will take a decision very soon”. He also indicated that the two-stop stipulation “is on the table”.
This is a consequence of concerns arising from last year’s race, which was a one-stopper for the majority of runners despite high wear levels that caused damage to the carcass of the tyres.
This is not the first time that stint lengths have been mandated in Qatar, as in 2023 a maximum of 18 laps was set after potential problems were identified in practice.
However, this latest proposal is in response to last year’s race, in which thermal degradation was not a problem and the best race time was achieved by maximising the stint length on the medium-compound Pirellis, which were significantly faster than the hards.
Both Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) suffered front-left punctures in this race, but while initially the suspicion was these were caused by debris, Pirelli ultimately concluded it was a consequence of extreme wear.
"We had the experience from previous years," said Berra when asked by The Race to explain the situation.
"Two years ago, it was more a matter of kerbs. Last year, it was a matter of high wear rate – and volumetric wear especially – that generated some carcass damage.
"Obviously, we are taking into account all these parameters.
"The structure hasn’t changed too much [this year] in terms of resistance, so we would like to avoid ending up in a similar situation as last year where the teams were able to extend the stint because they didn’t have a big performance loss even running on the under-tread.
"So we are evaluating which options we have on the table and we will decide very soon."
The 2023 Qatar GP is the only occasion a multi-stop race was forced through an emergency measure and was effectively a mandatory three-stopper because of a maximum stint length of 18 laps for a 57-lap race.
This situation took Pirelli by surprise when it conducted its usual tyre analysis on the Friday evening, which involves cutting tyres used during practice.
Under the microscope, there were signs of damage in the connection between the carcass and the compound, indicating that failures could occur if the tyres were subjected to too long a stint. This applied to all three compounds in use, as the damage was in the construction.
However, whereas this year’s concerns and the troubles last year were wear-related, 2023 issues were down to damage sustained by repeated high-speed kerb strikes at corner exits.
In particular, this was a problem at the high-speed Turn 12/13 right-handers where aggressive exit kerbs that have since been modified caused the damage – leading to the track boundary being moved 80cm inwards as part of the measures imposed after Friday practice.
