A number of drivers got into trouble in Qatar over the weekend as they sustained car and tire damage throughout the event.
Charles Leclerc and Nikita Mazepin both had to swap the chassis after damage from curbs, while Pierre Gasly smashed a front wing that caused a puncture at the end of qualifying.
In the race, it is believed that the repeated driving over the curb was involved in the tire failures of Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris and the Williams duo George Russell and Nicholas Latifi.
Rather than the curbs being too rough, Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes track technology manager, said the situation was so difficult because the real curbs were too low – so there was no deterrent to running over them.
“It’s weird because the problem is that they’re actually pretty slick so you can run them over anywhere,” he explained.
“If you run over them, the front fenders are very low on the ground and they are cut off and the tires are hit pretty hard.
“Bizarrely, it would probably be easier for the cars and the tires if they were more aggressive.
“But the fact that you can get on them, and the quickest way to get them, means you have to do it here, and that’s the risk.”
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
F1 Race Director Michael Masi said the Losail curb design, which is regularly used in both MotoGP and F1 venues, is nothing unique.
He cited the fact that in the final sequence of the Red Bull Ring in Austria the same curb concepts were used without complaint.
“These are the standard FIA / FIM curbs that we have always seen in Austria in the last two corners,” he said.
“I think one of the things is that the drivers tried to use everything to their full advantage.”
Pirelli has launched an investigation to investigate the punctured tires at the Qatar race and will investigate whether driver abuse of curbs was a key factor in the punctures.
Mario Isola, head of Formula 1 and car racing at the Italian tire manufacturer, said: “Every little dirt, every curb can cause a small amount of tire damage.
“Then, when the tire loses air, it no longer loses the high energy that these cars put on the tires.”
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