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Pirelli Imposes 25-Lap Tyre Limit for Qatar GP, Ensuring Two-Stop Race

Pirelli says 2024 inspections at Lusail revealed excessive wear, prompting a Qatar-only safety cap.

Overview

  • Each tyre set is capped at 25 laps across all sessions at Losail, making at least two pit stops unavoidable in the 57-lap grand prix.
  • Laps under Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car count toward the cap, while laps to the grid, formation laps and post-flag mileage do not, and teams will be told the remaining laps on each set before the race.
  • The restriction follows analysis showing several 2024 tyres, especially left-fronts, hit maximum wear with increased structural fatigue at the high-load circuit.
  • The decision was taken with the FIA and Formula 1 and discussed with teams, and it is a circuit-specific safety measure rather than a season-wide rule.
  • Pirelli will supply the hardest C1–C3 compounds for the sprint weekend, and the 19-lap sprint is short enough to run without a pit stop under the cap.