“A very high energy circuit” – Pirelli’s Mario Isola has come up with the case for the defence after multiple tyre punctures during the first-ever Qatar GP.
Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris and Williams duo George Russell and Nicholas Latifi faced the wrath of the Pirelli tyres, as it punctured in the “very high energy” Losail circuit.
Pirelli’s head of F1 Mario Isola has come up with the reasoning for the same, explaining how the track and the kerbs played a role in the incidents. He also confirmed the tyres will be sent to their laboratory in Milan for detailed analysis.
“[Losail] is a very high energy circuit, especially on the front left, that is clear. [The] tyres that were completely worn, both front left and rear left.
“I believe that part of the cause of that was the high-speed impact on kerbs because here we have a lot of run-off areas with kerbs they were hitting.
“It’s not a secret, I believe that some cars have damage to the floor, to the chassis, to the wings. So to understand what happened, we need to send them back to Milan and investigate them. We have some cuts that are visible on the sidewall, that is the weaker part of the tyre and we have to understand.
“[Drivers] have been able to go back to the pit and change the tyre so it was still controllable, even if losing pressure, obviously, you don’t have the same direction that you have when a tyre is inflated, but it was possible for them to come to the pit.”
