The various fates of the championship contenders dominated the headlines after qualifying for the Method 1 dash in Qatar as Oscar Piastri annexed pole whereas Lando Norris might do no higher than third and Max Verstappen’s bouncing Crimson Bull consigned him to sixth.
Behind the scenes there was a extra disturbing technical growth as F1’s tyre provider recognized critical harm brought on by gravel being drawn onto the monitor. Pirelli and the FIA will probably be monitoring the scenario because the weekend evolves in case potential questions of safety come up.
“We had a number of cuts on the treads, all of the corners [of the cars] affected,” mentioned Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra.
“That is primarily as a result of gravel traps we’ve right here. The circuit added additionally three or 4 strips in contrast with final 12 months and clearly the drivers, when they’re pushing to the restrict, they’re bringing some gravel onto the race line and we’ve seen some fairly deep gravel cuts.
“A few of them had been very deep.”
Cuts and punctures are of explicit concern at this circuit given the excessive cornering speeds. The tyres are beneath important duress due to the excessive cornering masses, therefore the specification of tyres on the more durable finish of the spectrum.
Owing to the excessive put on noticed on tyres utilized in final 12 months’s race, Pirelli has additionally imposed a 25-lap restrict per set this weekend. This doesn’t imply units are discarded as soon as used; within the dash race, as an example, it is possible most groups who made it by way of the primary section of qualifying will re-use the medium-compound units they ran in SQ2. Mercedes, whose drivers solely accomplished one run in SQ1, might re-use the mediums it ran in that session with out exceeding the restrict.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Picture by: Lars Baron / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
One other consequence of the Qatar circuit’s high-speed format is the necessity to bodily deter drivers from taking liberties with monitor limits. The preliminary answer was to construct steep ridges into the kerbs however the sharp crowns on their inside edges broken the sidewalls of tyres using over them.
Forward of final 12 months’s race weekend, the organisers ‘shaved’ the highest faces of those kerbs to take away these sharp edges and strategically positioned slim gravel traps on the kerb boundaries of crucial corners. When this gave the impression to be a workable answer they added additional gravel strips on the exits of Turns 6 and 10, the tightest corners on the monitor, in addition to Flip 16, which leads onto the primary straight.
The gravel strip at Flip 14, the ultimate section of a mix of quick right-handers, was prolonged to start out earlier since that is an space the place drivers attempt to carry most pace and the tiniest error can ship the automobile up the kerb.
“It [the gravel] is sort of sharp as a result of it generated these cuts fairly simply and, yeah, it appears sharp or sharper than [at] different circuits,” mentioned Berra.
“I’ve seen a few cuts that had been fairly deep, in order that they reached the development.
“They did not reduce any cords fortunately, however clearly if you happen to expose the development and also you go constantly on this gravel then you’ll be able to threat to have a puncture. So in qualifying, dash qualifying classes, drivers are going by way of the restrict rather more than in the course of the dash and the race.
“They keep a bit extra on monitor throughout races, so it may very well be much less of a priority in the course of the dash and Sunday in the course of the race. However clearly, we need to hold our eyes open additionally on this matter.”Â
The query of getting gravel traps versus asphalt run-offs has been a vexing one for the previous three a long time. Within the tenure of Bernie Ecclestone as industrial rights holder, there was a push in the direction of asphalt, mainly as a result of automobiles that grew to become beached within the gravel had been eradicated from the race, and having fewer automobiles working on monitor was deemed deleterious to the spectacle.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Picture by: Steven Tee / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
Tracks that hosted bike racing – Qatar’s was initially constructed for this function – had been additionally eager to see the again of gravel traps due to their tendency so as to add to the violence of riders being parted from their mounts, quite than subtracting from it, as evinced by the accident that left Wayne Rainey a paraplegic.
However asphalt requires extra run-off actual property, that means spectator areas should be pushed again, and the relative absence of penalties for going off-track encourages drivers to take extra dangers.
For these causes, F1 drivers are vexatiously inconsistent of their perspective in the direction of gravel run-offs, on the one hand calling for gravel after they see rivals take liberties with asphalt run-offs, on the opposite complaining when their very own laps are compromised by gravel drawn onto the monitor floor.
In Qatar, Haas driver Oliver Bearman was one such.
“For me the problem was on the ultimate lap I used to be behind somebody who simply saved going off, so I had a variety of particles on monitor, gravel, which is actually primarily a difficulty of the monitor,” he mentioned after being knocked out in SQ2.Â
“You realize a variety of us are complaining in regards to the gravel, it isn’t one of the simplest ways in our opinion to resolve issues as a result of we find yourself with what we’ve – which is mainly gravel in all places, damaging tyres and ruining laps.”
It’s unimaginable to please all the individuals all the time, so these gravel strips are a compromise with which the opponents should dwell when visiting this venue – together with all of the potential outcomes this entails, which might embrace security automobile deployments and even race stoppages so gravel may be cleared.
“For the time being we aren’t, to illustrate, involved,” mentioned Berra. “However we have to keep in mind any attainable implication throughout a dash or throughout a race if the scenario can create some points on the tyre or some punctures doubtlessly.
“Clearly FIA additionally will monitor the scenario by way of gravel on monitor and so they can probably use a purple flag or a security automobile to wash the monitor.”
Images from Qatar GP – Dash Qualifying
Qatar GP – Friday, in images
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Qatar GP – Friday, in images
Qatar GP – Friday, in images
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