Written by Oscar McWilliams, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
This weekend's Qatar Grand Prix sees major changes made to the Losail International Circuit, renowned for its spacious layout, in order to solve ongoing track limit difficulties.
The changes have been introduced in response to drivers such as Sergio Perez, who incurred as many as three track limits penalties during last year's race, essentially dropping him 15 seconds back in the final classification.
He wasn't the only one to fall foul of track limit violations, though; Alex Albon, Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly all received comparable punishments for track limit infringements. As such, these improvements were essential.
One noticeable change is the insertion of a new gravel strip at the exit of turn one, intended to organically penalise drivers who run wide. Behind this gravel strip, a portion of concrete remains before the original large trap.
Similar adjustments have been made at other corners, with the closing section of the lap receiving the greatest attention. Turns 12 and 15 also feature gravel at the exits, and the kerbs have been softened to be less harsh on cars, drivers, and tyres.
Pirelli had to set a maximum 18-lap stint duration last year to ensure tyre integrity, and it will send the three hardest tires from its portfolio this weekend, as it did in 2023. Formula One’s tyre supplier subsequently studied data from teams who visited the track with previous model cars, and tested revised kerbs provided by the FIA.
Pirelli revealed in its event preview that the pyramid-shaped kerb points had been rounded down at seven of the track's 16 corners: The first two after the start, turns 4 and 10, as well as the stretch from turns 12 to 14. The latter series of corners put the biggest stress on the tyre sidewalls.
Engineers from Pirelli Motorsport's R&D department conducted extensive experiments on dynamic test beds in Milan using FIA-supplied samples of the new kerbs. They also examined tires from testing conducted by several Formula One teams at the Losail track using pre-2024 cars.
Although the tires were not identical to those in the 2024 range, the data collected proved to be valuable in validating the modelling results and test bed indications.
The goal of these modifications is to guarantee a safer and more seamless racing weekend at the Losail International Circuit, by avoiding a recurrence of the problems from last year.
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