How the F1 Qatar GP tyre farce flattered McLaren and hurt Verstappen

Overall then, not exactly how Pirelli would have wanted to spend the Formula 1 race weekend preceding the announcement that it will remain as the championship’s sole tyre supplier until at least 2028.

Instead of sitting comfortably on that news, it had to work with the FIA to ensure there would be a Qatar Grand Prix at all in 2023. Such was the concern over the tyres being able to withstand repeated, sustained impacts on the high-speed Losail International Circuit’s newly installed ‘pyramid’ kerbs.

This was to be F1’s biggest tyre drama since Indianapolis 2005, and included a GP contest where four drivers were physically unwell, and many more were close to being so too, due to the intense heat and punishing nature of the course.

Pirelli’s Friday night analysis of tyres that had done more than 20 laps in the weekend’s sole practice session had revealed that tiny separations in the sidewalls between the topping compounds and the carcass cords had started to occur.

When cut open, Pirelli could see that repeated impacts between the tyre sidewalls and the 5cm high pyramid-shaped kerbs were causing the issue. It was felt this would only get worse over the predicted longer stint race distances and so there was a risk of dramatic punctures.

A solution to paint the kerbs at Turns 13 and 14 80cm out onto the track ahead of sprint qualifying was put into place, with the drivers getting a 10-minute sighter session to adapt to the new lines.

Then a further detailed tyre inspection after the 19-lap sprint race would determine if the sidewall separation issue had been stopped and the unprecedented step of tyre usage rules and stint lengths mandated by the FIA (as had been flagged as likely on Saturday morning) wouldn’t be required.

PLUS: 10 moments that won Verstappen the 2023 Formula 1 title

Qatar's 'pyramid' kerbs caught the eye pre-weekend but ended up triggering the tyre trouble

Photo by: Alex Kalinauckas

But thanks to the sprint race’s many spills meaning only 12 tours were completed at racing speed, the FIA and Pirelli decided “the tyre data available for analysis by Pirelli was insufficient to add to that already undertaken following [practice and Friday qualifying]”, per a statement from the governing body. The sidewall separation had anyway been spotted on some of the analysed sprint race tyres.

Therefore, it was decided that GP stint lengths would indeed be capped at 18 laps, with the number of tours already completed by used tyres being taken into account (ie, race stints on such rubber had to be under 18 laps by the number already done, which was calculated while including in/out tours in practice and the qualifying sessions, not on reconnoitring laps to the grids).

This all meant a minimum of a three-stop GP was guaranteed and was all communicated to the 10 team managers in a meeting held six hours before Sunday’s GP. With four hours to go before the race’s 8pm local start time, the plan was announced publicly.

For polesitter Max Verstappen, things still looked rather straightforward given he had two new sets – mediums and hards – that could cover the full 18-lap stint maximum, plus two sets of used mediums capable of going 17 tours. That meant a 70-lap potential of the real 57-tour GP distance – the added possible length increasing his strategic variety options, with the six sets of used softs Verstappen also had left never really an option given they wore so quickly here.

Why potential and real strategies matter here, and for Verstappen, was because of what occurred between the Mercedes drivers when the race got under way

For George Russell alongside Verstappen on the front row, the Briton’s expected plan had the same two new sets, but three used mediums only capable of going nine, 13 and 13 laps. Behind in third, Lewis Hamilton had the same new medium and hard duo, plus a new set of softs, and two used mediums around the same age as Russell’s.

Back in sixth and 10th, the tyres and therefore pitstop timings for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris looked very similar pre-race to Russell’s, although like Verstappen and Hamilton, they had just two used mediums available in addition to their single sets of new mediums and hards.

Why their potential and real strategies matter here, and for Verstappen, was because of what occurred between the Mercedes drivers when the race got under way.

Verstappen moved to the inside to cover Russell at the start, but all-Mercedes carnage was about to unfold

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The Black Arrows squad had opted to split its strategies and take the same used mediums approach for Russell’s W14 for the start, as Verstappen did aboard his RB19. Hamilton, meanwhile, would run those new softs.

New mediums for the start wasn’t really an option for the frontrunners because, although it would have meant running long on fresh rubber on a low-grip surface that therefore quickly grained tyres, the risk of an early safety car and potentially being pushed from the mandated three-stops to four or more was just too high.

When the lights went out, Verstappen and Russell got away almost in unison, with the newly crowned triple world champion moving right quickly to cover off the Mercedes’ run to the inside of the long, right-hand Turn 1 hairpin.

Behind, Hamilton’s softs grip advantage paid off, meaning the seven-time world champion could edge alongside his team-mate approaching the corner.

Russell did jink back left as they all approached the braking zone, where Hamilton was able to slam on the anchors latest of all and know his grip advantage would likely do the rest – possibly even send him to the lead with Verstappen set to have the outside line for Turn 2. But neither Mercedes driver got there with him.

Hamilton simply came across and left Russell with nowhere to go – his left front clipping and then breaking Hamilton’s right rear and sending him spinning out backwards into the Turn 1 gravel. He initially fumed that he’d been “taken out by my team-mate” on his team radio, before returning to the pits, seeing a replay and changing his mind.

Hamilton ran across the track to start that process, in doing so reaching the circuit’s inside barely in front of Russell exiting the pits on lap two. Russell had also spun because of their contact, fallen to last and emerged from the pitstop he’d taken under the ensuing safety car with that bonus set of used mediums fitted.

Russell would never be far from the race’s remaining focus, as the safety car staying out until lap five of the 57-tour affair meant he was right with the pack for the restart.

Piastri benefitted most from the Mercedes start crash jumping from sixth to second

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

His pace for the rest of the contest was strong enough – to have “been there with us”, according to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. That, paired with his committed overtakes, meant he rose back to finish fourth, despite a surprise short final stint on the softs nearly backfiring.

At the restart, Verstappen led Piastri after the Australian had “hit the brakes at the right time” at Turn 1 and watched “everyone else go off” as “the heavens kind of just parted way for me and through to second I went”.

Easing Piastri’s path at the same time as the intra-Mercedes collision was fourth-starting Fernando Alonso and fifth-starting Charles Leclerc sliding wide on the outside line at Turn 1, in the Hamilton/Russell shunt’s wake.

Russell would never be far from the race’s remaining focus, as the safety car staying out until lap five of the 57-tour affair meant he was right with the pack for the restart

Verstappen nailed the restart so well he headed onto lap five with a 1.1s advantage. As his tyres were five laps younger than Piastri’s thanks to the running he had done on them previously, Verstappen knew “what really made my race was that first stint, where I think we were quite strong and good on the tyres”.

As he ran confidently, Piastri dropped back to 2.9s in arrears before pitting on lap 12 – not quite the 13-lap maximum distance he could reach with his previously used starting mediums.

Piastri emerged in 13th and had to pass Liam Lawson, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas, who had all pitted under the safety car, while Verstappen continued on until lap 17.

When things shook out and the safety car stoppers had been overcome, Verstappen’s advantage sat at 8.2s. This came down to 7.4s over the two laps past the Dutchman’s first pitstop, but as his second stint played out in identical fashion over the same number of laps, he eked it out once again.

With fresh mediums against Verstappen on fresh hards, Piastri began to eat into the Dutch driver's lead

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

In a similar way, Piastri’s second stint also on another set of used mediums mirrored his first and he pitted on the race’s 25th tour.

As Verstappen was again set to complete the full 17 laps his other remaining set of used mediums allowed, here things really started to diverge. Piastri was fitted with his sole new set of mediums. Then at Verstappen’s second service he took new hards.

This was “past an optimal strategy” per Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. And his team took that option because it reduced the risk of Verstappen being exposed on the hards if a late safety car was called. This was proved when, as Piastri was still pushing on with the mediums, Verstappen’s race took something of a hit with that white-walled rubber.

This was because, according to Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola, not only were the “usually more resistant” hards suffering with graining – although to a much lesser extent than on the mediums used earlier thanks to the big track evolution factor with more rubber going down – that rubber was taking an age to switch on.

“It’s not a matter of temperature,” Isola mused on why that might be – the Italian needing to first see Pirelli’s post-race analysis before being able to commit to an answer – given the 32°C race ambient temperature.

But Isola felt confident enough to speculate that, because the all-new surface here was “very smooth”, mechanical grip was reduced – there was little in the way of asphalt roughness anywhere for the tyres to bite.

Plus, because of the bitumen sitting on top of the first new asphalt laid at this place since it opened in 2004, Isola was expecting “a bit more adhesive grip”. But this didn’t come to pass and contributed to the many slips and spills seen across the field all weekend.

“If you go on the C1 [hard],” Isola concluded, “the adhesive grip is going down, you start sliding and you probably put less energy into the tyre and it takes more time [to heat up]. The risk is to overheat the surface, but the grip is still not there.”

Verstappen's charge was also slowed by lapped traffic and a slow final pitstop

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

All of that left Verstappen feeling like “I lost quite a bit of time” in his third stint, which lasted until lap 51.

By this point Piastri was experiencing the same hards warm-up struggle, having stopped on lap 43, but was about to be handed another slice of time against the leader. A first had come via Verstappen lapping seven cars, including that of his track limits penalty-addled team-mate Sergio Perez, before his final stop. The second was an approximate two-second delay to Verstappen’s final stop for those new mediums being caused by his left-front hard slowly coming off.

His gap for the run to the finish therefore started at a much reduced 3.9s. But in truth, as Verstappen stroked things home risk-free, things for Piastri were really about the race behind.

"I do think we had a bit more pace in hand if we really needed it, but nevertheless, I don't want to take anything away from McLaren" Max Verstappen

Norris had a battling night – gaining with the Mercedes shunt to run sixth immediately (he also passed Bottas and Pierre Gasly on lap one before the safety car came out) and then got stuck into Leclerc and Alonso, having overcut Alpine’s Esteban Ocon at the first round of mandated pitstops.

Norris felt early on he “had great pace” and this, plus the race circumstances coming to him, transformed what was possible on a weekend where he reflected he “should’ve fought for two pole positions and potentially two victories” had he avoided his repeated qualifying track-limits errors.

By the start of the McLaren drivers’ fourth and final stints – Norris having run one and two laps longer than Piastri in each of his opening two spells on the used mediums, then started his mirroring new hards last stint one lap later – the gap between them was 2.5s.

This came down to 2.1s on lap 46, but on the next tour McLaren decided to call off the potential intra-team fight before it had even started.

Norris queried “why – we have a gap and I’m clearly a lot quicker?” in reply, but the subsequent insistence from the pitwall quelled his questioning. Anyway, he felt the “the dirty air was quite a big struggle” here, especially when the drivers reached a three-second window behind another car.

Norris tried to convince McLaren to let him fight Piastri after the final pitstops but it was in vain

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Stella explained that Norris’s “challenge” to McLaren on the order was part of its process to “make sure we understand [the drivers’] point of view” to maybe change a decision.

A big part of McLaren’s thinking here was Norris’s late-race puncture at this venue in 2021, which cost him fourth. “You don’t want to take this risk,” added Stella, because on a day when Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin picked up just 30 points between them, McLaren had to bank the 33 on offer from second and third.

And so, Verstappen came home to win by 4.8s, with Norris 1.1s behind Piastri having sat just out of DRS threat ever after being told he would not be permitted to launch an attack that might have netted a third successive second place.

As a result, Piastri secured the best GP result of his young career at the top level, having become a sprint race winner the night before. Afterwards, Piastri said “with the three stops, it was basically flatout – 57 qualifying laps”. But had Verstappen been doing likewise?

“I do think we had a bit more pace in hand if we really needed it, but nevertheless, I don't want to take anything away from McLaren”, he said in reply to Autosport’s post-race press conference question on the matter – referencing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase’s instruction for Verstappen to raise his pace on his second set of used mediums on lap 31.

Verstappen not pushing flatout to make his safety car protection strategy work was why Stella said this unique race had a “a flattering element” for McLaren: “[Red Bull] were on a strategy that loses time.”

But Verstappen also went further, concluding the capped stint lengths “didn't help us, [as] our trend is normally long stints and looking after our tyres”. He added: “This didn't work for us today. The stints were too limited.”

So, through no fault of its own this was a relatively bad day for Red Bull (although of course it wasn’t, really), and served as a handy illustration of just how good it and Verstappen have been in 2023 now it is all over bar the shouting.

Verstappen capped his 2023 F1 world title triumph in Qatar with a sweaty GP victory

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool