Pirelli noticed cuts on the tires.

      On Friday the drivers were unhappy with the asphalt in Qatar, but Pirelli believes the situation is still better than last year, although they did notice tyre damage by the end of the day…

      Simone Berra, Pirelli’s chief engineer: “On Friday the track conditions were definitely better than a year ago, when the wind blew too much sand onto the asphalt. Now the level of grip, combined with the evolution of the cars, has led to lap times being not only better than in equivalent sessions last year, but also better than in the simulator.

      In the only practice session teams got to grips with the track using Hard tyres, leaving one set for the race on Sunday, and then finished the session on Softs. The difference between Soft and Medium was clearly noticeable in sprint qualifying, where it amounted to six to seven tenths of a second.

      Towards the end of the sessions we noticed cuts on some tyres caused by gravel that had been brought onto the track by cars running off into the new gravel traps along the circuit. Although the damage is not serious enough to cause a loss of pressure, we will be closely monitoring tyre condition during the sprint.”