Qatar Grand Prix could face disruption after 'serious tyre damage' discovered

Pirelli and the FIA will monitor a gravel issue for F1’s Qatar Grand Prix after serious damage was discovered on the tyres after Friday’s running.

Usually the heat dominates the headlines at Lusail, but F1’s tyre supplier observed a different issue impacting the tyres at the beginning of the weekend.

Pirelli identified ‘serious damage’ caused by the gravel being brought onto the track due to the amount of gravel traps, which will be monitored to ensure there is no potential threat to safety.

While this won't postpone the 4pm UK time start for the race, the issue with the gravel could lead to more safety focused measures from race control - potentially red flagging the race to sweep away on-track debris before restarting.

"We had several cuts on the treads, all the corners [of the cars] affected," Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra explained.

"This is mainly due to the gravel traps we have here. The circuit added also three or four strips compared with last year and obviously the drivers, when they are pushing to the limit, they are bringing some gravel onto the race line and we have seen some quite deep gravel cuts.

"Some of them were very deep."

Gravel traps are especially pertinent at Lusail to prevent drivers from breaching track limits, with gravel areas placed strategically around the circuit at critical corners such as Turns 6 and 10, alongside Turn 16. The gravel strip at Turn 14 was also extended to start earlier for the 2025 grand prix.

Why would gravel cause disruption at Qatar GP?

Pirelli have brought their hardest compound of tyres to the 2025 Qatar GP C1 (hard), C2 (medium) and C3 (soft), with the tyres under significant stress at Lusail due to the high cornering speeds.

Punctures to the tyres are also of concern due to the high cornering speeds, and doubled with the rogue gravel out on track, presents an additional problem for teams and drivers.

"It [the gravel] is quite sharp because it generated these cuts quite easily and, yeah, it seems sharp or sharper than [at] other circuits," Berra continued.

"I've seen a couple of cuts that were quite deep, so they reached the construction.

"They didn't cut any cords luckily, but obviously if you expose the construction and you pass continuously on this gravel then you can risk to have a puncture. So in qualifying, sprint qualifying sessions, drivers are going through the limit much more than during the sprint and the race.

"They stay a bit more on track during races, so it could be less of a concern during the sprint and Sunday during the race. But obviously, we want to keep our eyes open also on this matter."

Due to the high wear on tyres at last year’s race, the 2025 Qatar GP will have a maximum 25-lap limit on the tyres, which will force teams and drivers into a minimum of a two stop race over the 57-lap distance.

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