The Qatar Grand Prix will include maximum stint lengths of 18 laps to ensure tire integrity after concerns over curb strikes on Friday.
Small damage was identified during Friday practice that was judged to have been caused by the severe edge of exit curbs at circuit corners, and the amount of time cars run on them at high speed. While there were no failures, Pirelli noticed the initial signs in tires that had completed around 20 laps, so changed the track limits to try and keep them off the edges of curbs at Turn 12 and Turn 13.
As the Sprint was an interrupted race with multiple Safety Car interventions, Pirelli felt it didn’t have enough data to be certain the problem has been removed, and in some cases, tires that were analyzed from the Sprint did show the initial onset of the separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords of the tires.