Formulation 1 tyre provider Pirelli and the FIA have labored collectively on an motion plan that ought to assist keep away from a repeat of the tyre issues that marred final yr’s Qatar Grand Prix, Autosport has realized.
As F1 returned to the revamped Losail circuit in 2023, it hit bother as tyre issues have been encountered due to harm being attributable to new ‘pyramid’ kerbs that had been put in.
Following the primary free apply, Pirelli found microscopic separations within the sidewalls between the topping compounds and the carcass cords.
This was triggered by drivers working over the brand new kerbs, which featured a raised 50mm border – inflicting vital impacts because the tyres dropped over the sting. The difficulty was magnified due to the high-speed nature of the venue.
Talking on the time about what should be blamed for the difficulty, Pirelli’s head of F1 and automotive racing Mario Isola stated: “It is not simply the geometry of the kerbs, as a result of these kerbs are utilized in many different circuits. It is the time and the velocity they keep on the kerbs that’s vital.
“So, right here, in the course of the lap, all of the drivers are spending various time at excessive velocity on the kerbs, and that is damaging the development.”
Qatar pyramid kerbs
Picture by: Alex Kalinauckas
Amid issues about this harm opening the door to potential failures, the FIA intervened and mandated most stint lengths of 18 laps for brand spanking new tyres within the race, which was duly changed into a three-stopper.
In a bid to keep away from repeat issues, Pirelli and the FIA have labored exhausting on a response to attempt to make sure that the tyres keep away from an identical punishment this yr.
The largest change made shall be on the circuit, with the pyramid-shaped kerbs having had their suggestions rounded off at seven of the observe’s 16 corners.
These are on the first two corners, Turns 4 and 10 after which the part from Turns 12 to 14 the place probably the most stress was placed on the tyres final yr.
To additional discourage drivers from pushing issues too far, the FIA has additionally put in quite a few gravel strips behind the kerbs.
In addition to the bodily work on the observe, Pirelli has carried out experiments on its dynamic check beds at its Motorsport R&D Division in Milan to raised perceive the forces at play.
This has concerned working tyres over a pattern of the brand new kerb design that has been equipped to it by the FIA to see if there’s any threat of repeat issues.
Additional knowledge has additionally been captured from earlier automotive testing that some groups have executed in latest weeks in Qatar.
Though the previous automotive testing doesn’t contain working the 2024-spec race tyres, the suggestions gathered has been helpful in correlating the work being executed again in Milan with what is occurring in the actual world.
With Losail being some of the punishing tracks of the season when it comes to power ranges, Pirelli is taking the toughest three compounds from its vary.