P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner claims implementing mandated pitstops into Formula 1 on a permanent basis wouldn’t “make sense”
After Pirelli discovered micro cuts on its tires during Friday’s practice sessions in Qatar, the FIA decided to reduce the track limits at Turns 12 and 13 by 80cm. As a result of ongoing concerns, the FIA announced before the Grand Prix that there would be a maximum stint length of 18 laps. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner dismissed the idea of mandated pit stops, stating that it would affect qualifying and the number of laps teams do to save tires for the race. Despite leading every lap, Max Verstappen only had a 4.8s lead over McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the end of the race, with the mandated stops mitigating Red Bull’s advantage in tire preservation. Horner explained that Red Bull purposely deviated from the optimal strategy predicted by simulations to manage the risk of a Safety Car period in the last 10 laps. Sergio Perez, starting from the pit lane due to a technical issue in qualifying, was only able to finish in 10th place due to the unique pit-stop regulation enforced in Qatar.
Source: Motorsport Week
