The FIA was left concerned over tyre wear at the Losail International Circuit following Friday’s practice session; an extra 10-minute session will take place on Saturday; watch the Sprint Shootout live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Saturday before the Sprint at 6.30pm
The FIA has announced that all drivers could be obliged to make at least three pit stops during Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix amid “safety” concerns over tyre wear.
Following analysis of the tyres used on Friday in what was meant to be the sole practice session of the Sprint event, there were concerns over the impact the Losail International Circuit’s ‘pyramid’ kerbs are having.
In an attempt to reduce the impact, track limits at Turns 12-13 have been revised, and an extra 10-minute ‘practice familiarisation’ ahead of the Sprint Shootout on Saturday has been added to allow drivers time to adjust to the changes.
Depending on the results of the analysis from the 19-lap Sprint later on Saturday, the FIA says it could enforce a three pit stop rule for Sunday’s 57-lap race, along with a maximum limit of 20 full laps run on any single set of tyres.
An FIA statement, released little more than three hours before the scheduled start of the Sprint Shootout, said: “Following the standard analysis of tyres used during Free Practice 1 yesterday, in which tyres that have been used for approximately 20 laps are examined by Pirelli to check various safety parameters, a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords on many of tyres that were checked was discovered.
Max Verstappen took pole position for Sunday’s Qatar GP thanks to a stunning start as he looks to seal a third successive World Championship
“It is the view of the FIA and Pirelli that a significant number of additional laps on these tyres could result in circumferential damage of the tyres with subsequent air loss, and tyres analysed with lower lap numbers showed a much-reduced extent of the issue.
“This issue has likely been caused by the high-frequency interference between the tyre sidewall and the 50mm ‘pyramid’ kerbs used extensively at this circuit, aggravated by the propensity to ride those kerbs.”
More to follow…
This is a breaking news story that is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh this page for the latest updates.
Sky Sports brings you live updates as they happen. Get breaking sports news, analysis, exclusive interviews, replays and highlights.
Sky Sports is your trusted source for breaking sports news headlines and live updates. Watch live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, F1, Boxing, Cricket, Golf, Tennis, Rugby League, Rugby Union, NFL, Darts, Netball and get the latest transfers news, results, scores and more.
Visit skysports.com or the Sky Sports App for all the breaking sports news headlines. You can receive push notifications from the Sky Sports app for the latest news from your favourite sports and you can also follow @SkySportsNews on Twitter to get the latest updates.
Source link
credite