Pirelli identifies reasons behind punctures of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz in last Qatar GP
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Pirelli’s investigation into the Qatar GP punctures
It took some time for the necessary investigations, but in the end, Pirelli informed the teams of the findings regarding the punctures suffered by Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton in the final phase of the last Qatar GP. According to reports gathered by the reputable The Race, the root cause of the punctures—which triggered a chaotic race finale with the Safety Car deployment and Lando Norris's penalty for failing to respect yellow flags due to a rearview mirror lost on track from Alex Albon's Williams—was not the sharp curbs but rather the normal wear of the tires.
No connection to the 2023 events
Back in 2023, the Lusail weekend was heavily impacted by a structural integrity issue with the tires. They were damaged when running at high speed over the excessively "sharp" curbs on the track, leading the FIA to impose three mandatory pit stops for all drivers. Fortunately, this issue did not reoccur in last year's edition of the race at the circuit near Doha, which had been properly modified with the removal of the so-called “killer curbs.” Nonetheless, the final phase of the GP was marked by suspicious punctures, occurring almost simultaneously, on the left front tires of Hamilton's Mercedes and Sainz's Ferrari.
The cause of Pirelli's Qatar GP punctures
According to Pirelli’s internal investigations conducted over the winter, the punctures were instead caused by normal tire wear. Almost all drivers had completed 34 or 35 laps out of the scheduled 57 (well over half the race) and were attempting to extend the first stint on Medium tires, waiting for a potential race neutralization—either a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car—due to debris from the Williams being near the racing line. This deadlock was ultimately resolved precisely by the punctures suffered by Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton.
"Normal" wear for Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz's tires
According to Pirelli's conclusions, as reported by The Race, the characteristics of the track also played a key role in bringing the left front tires to 100% wear before failure. Lusail's asphalt is very smooth but generates high grip, giving drivers the confidence to push without worrying about overheating the tires. As a result, this type of circuit does not degrade the compounds due to thermal stress as seen on most other tracks, meaning lap times remain competitive without performance drops—right up until the point of failure, as seen with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz.
Pirelli studying countermeasures for the future
For this reason, Pirelli is also exploring countermeasures to prevent drivers from pushing tires to the end of their lifecycle, risking further punctures on similar circuits. The solution of imposing a maximum number of laps per compound—adopted in Qatar in 2023 due to the sharp curbs—does not appear feasible this time. According to The Race, the Milan-based company may instead address the issue by bringing softer tires, which are less durable and more susceptible to thermal stress.
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