Pirelli share initial findings from Qatar GP tyre issue investigations

Pirelli have shared their initial findings from investigations into tyre deflations that took place during the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix.

In Qatar, four F1 drivers – Nicholas Latifi and George Russell of Williams, McLaren's Lando Norris, and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas – suffered tyre issues, with Bottas and Latifi ultimately retiring from the race.

READ MORE: ‘We should have been on the podium’ says Bottas after tyre issues compound miserable Qatar GP

The tyre supplier have now released their first conclusions from their Qatar GP investigations.

In a statement released on Friday, they said: "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."