Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the results of its investigation into the failures seen during the Qatar Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Valtteri Bottas, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, and Lando Norris experienced failures over the course of the race.
Following the event, Pirelli confirmed it would investigate the issues which offered teams little to no warning.
“The ongoing analysis that Pirelli is carrying out on the tyres of the cars that suffered deflations during the Qatar Grand Prix has provided some initial conclusions that exclude any production defects,” a statement from Pirelli announced on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
“Based on the findings obtained so far, the origin of the problem is mainly due to the amount of time these tyres were run on the kerbs, at high speed and with considerable lateral and vertical loads: a situation unique to the Losail circuit.
“The heavy demand caused by running over these kerbs, which isn’t possible to measure from the data available before the race, damaged the tyre construction and led to a loss of pressure in the internal sidewall, which consequently caused the structure to collapse after several seconds.
“Pirelli has shared all the technical details of the analysis carried out so far with the FIA and the teams.”
Formula 1 had not previously visited the Losail circuit, a venue primarily designed for motorcycle racing and included as a late replacement for the Australian Grand Prix.
Qatar is set to miss out on a berth on next year’s calendar, as it hosts the football world cup, but will reappear in 2023 on a long-term deal.
However, there is no guarantee that will mean a return to Losail, with a potential street circuit in Doha mooted.
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