Pirelli announced last week: "Every set of tyres supplied to the teams at the start of the race weekend can cover a maximum of 25 laps of the Lusail track, which is very demanding on tyres in terms of energy, thermal stress and wear. The laps will be counted cumulatively across all track sessions, including laps run under the Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car."

Pirelli continued: "As the Qatar Grand Prix is run over 57 laps, each driver will inevitably have to change tyres at least twice. Before the start of the Grand Prix, Pirelli will inform the teams how many laps are still available for each set. This measure has been deemed necessary, following analysis of the tyres used in 2024. Last year, several tyres, particularly the left front, had reached the maximum wear level. These conditions, combined with the high lateral energy had increased the structural fatigue of the construction."

The Lusail circuit in Qatar has proven to test drivers and cars to the limit, with Logan Sargeant retiring from the race in 2023 due to exhaustion, and at least one car being affected by a puncture at every race since F1 first started racing at Lusail, back in 2021.

To counter the struggles that cars and drivers may face, Pirelli will be bringing the hardest tyre compounds available, the C1,C2 and C3. With this weekend being a sprint weekend, each driver will have 2 sets of Hard, 4 of Medium, and 6 Soft tyres.

This weekend could also see drivers using the cooling vests, which made a notable appearance at the Singapore Grand Prix earlier this season.

With the tyres only being able to run a maximum of 25-laps, this will affect race strategies and will also put more significance on qualifying.

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