Formula 1 will return to the Lusail International Circuit for the penultimate round of the 2024 season, with the final Sprint of the year taking place alongside the Qatar Grand Prix – and Pirelli have confirmed what tyres will be in play during the event.
In a contrast to last time out in Las Vegas – where the three softest dry tyre compounds were chosen – this weekend will see the hardest trio of compounds used, with Pirelli bringing the C1 as the hard, the C2 as the medium and the C3 as the soft at the 5.419km track.
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As it is a Sprint weekend, the allocation of tyres drops from 13 sets to 12, with drivers getting two sets of the hards (marked white), four of the mediums (marked yellow) and six of the softs (marked red). The number of wet weather sets remains the same (five intermediate and two wet).
During last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, teams were only permitted to use a new set of tyres for a maximum of 18 laps after Pirelli raised concerns over tyre interactions with the kerbs leading to a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords. This meant that all drivers had to make three pit stops during the race.
However, Pirelli and the FIA have since worked together to prepare for this year’s event and ensure that there is not a repeat of what happened in 2023.
“The pyramid-shaped kerbs have had their tips rounded off at seven of the track’s 16 corners: the first two after the start, Turns 4 and 10 and the three from 12 to 14, the section that had most stressed the sides of the tyres,” Pirelli’s race weekend preview explains.
“Engineers in the Pirelli Motorsport R&D department have carried out extensive and lengthy tests on the dynamic test beds in Milan, using a sample of the new kerbs supplied by the FIA. Furthermore, the engineers also analysed tyres from tests carried out by some Formula 1 teams in recent weeks at the Lusail circuit, running pre-2024 cars.
“Even though the tyres were obviously not identical to those from the 2024 range, the acquired data has still been useful to confirm the results of simulations and the indications from the test bed. It should also be noted that the FIA has ensured that a gravel strip is added to the outside of some kerbs to dissuade drivers from overstepping the mark in order to go quicker.”
While there may also be less humidity facing the drivers this time around – with the race taking place over one month later – the conditions could still affect strategy plans, with tyre graining a possibility.
Pirelli’s preview continues: “This could have a significant impact on race strategy with the tyres possibly suffering from significant thermal degradation. Furthermore, there are so few precedents to these conditions that for now it is impossible to make predictions.
“Leaving aside the events of 2023, it should be remembered that, in 2021, some drivers only made one pit stop and others, like Hamilton and Verstappen who finished first and second, fought for the win running a two-stop strategy.
“While keeping in mind that 2021 featured cars from the previous generation, therefore with very different tyre compounds, there were many different choices made in terms of compounds used, as indeed was the case in last year’s Sprint when 12 drivers started on the medium and eight on the soft.”
For more information about Pirelli’s F1 tyres, visit pirelli.com.
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