Formula One tire supplier Pirelli has confirmed it will enforce a maximum stint length for the Qatar Grand Prix later this month amid concerns over the level of wear.
The Lusail International Circuit in Qatar is one of the most demanding tracks for tires in F1 due to the number of high-speed corners, resulting in a large amount of lateral load that contributes to the rubber wearing down.
For the 2023 race, Pirelli enforced an 18-lap maximum stint length due to concerns about the tire wear and potential damage from some of the curbs that may have caused cuts in the sidewall of the tires.
Although there were no restrictions on tire life for the 2024 race, Pirelli’s analysis of the tires used in the race showed there were high levels of wear as teams extended their stint lengths to try and limit the number of stops. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz both suffered punctures in the race.
This has prompted Pirelli to announce a maximum stint length of 25 laps per set of tires for the penultimate race of the F1 season in Qatar.
At a distance of 57 laps, drivers will be required to make at least two pit stops in the grand prix. Ahead of the race, Pirelli will tell teams how many laps are left on each set of tires. Teams receive 12 sets of tires — two hard, four medium and six soft — to use through the sprint weekend, with a 19-lap sprint race scheduled for Saturday.
“This measure has been deemed necessary, following analysis of the tires used in 2024,” Pirelli said in a statement confirming the measure.
“Last year, several tires, particularly the left front, had reached the maximum wear level. These conditions, combined with the high lateral energy had increased the structural fatigue of the construction.
“In order to reduce the number of pit stops, the teams had worked on tyre degradation management, limiting performance drop off, which sometimes ran the risk of extending the stint beyond the useful life of the tire.”
Max Verstappen takes the lead at the start of the 2024 Qatar GP (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Pirelli already makes its hardest selection of tires, designated as C1, C2 and C3, available to teams for the Qatar weekend due to the demands of the track. The organizers of the race made changes to the curbs ahead of last year’s race in an effort to prevent the micro-lacerations that had led to issues in 2023.
This will not be the first race this year where teams have faced restrictions on their strategies. In a bid to improve the on-track action in the Monaco Grand Prix, F1 made it a mandatory two-stop race, only for tactics on the track where drivers deliberately backed up the field to spark criticism from drivers.
But unlike in Qatar, stint lengths were not limited, meaning teams could make their pit stops whenever they pleased.
The Qatar race takes place on November 30 between rounds in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi that will conclude the 2025 season.
Lando Norris holds a 24-point lead in the drivers’ championship going into this week’s Las Vegas Grand Prix after scoring back-to-back victories, moving ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the standings.