Fresh tyre concerns have hit Pirelli after Friday's free practice and sprint qualifying sessions at the Qatar Grand Prix.

It comes after several deep gravel cuts were spotted in the rubber of tyres that were inspected by the Italian company after Friday's proceedings took place at the Losail International Circuit.

As a result, there will be a ramp-up in the monitoring of the tyres from Pirelli for the rest of the weekend.

Pirelli's chief engineer, Simone Berra, believes that the cuts occurred due to the loose pieces of gravel that were scattered around the track and on several kerbs due to cars running wide.

Oscar Piastri took sprint race pole position on Friday at the Losail Circuit, while championship rival and teammate Lando Norris only finished P3 - Photo: Race Pictures

He said: "At the end of the sessions, we saw cuts on the tread of some of the tyres caused by gravel pulled onto the circuit by cars that went off into the new gravel traps alongside the track.

"While the damage isn’t enough to cause any loss of pressure, we’re going to be a close eye on the condition of the tyres during tomorrow’s running.”

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Tyres continue to be a talking point

This discovery continues the discussions about tyres in Qatar this weekend after mandatory pit stops and a maximum of 25 laps per stint were enforced for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Now, the addition of new gravel beds at Turns 6, 10 and 16 appear to have not been rounded off, resulting in easy cuts and lacerations in the tyres.

But there is not so much concern from Berra and Pirelli that will result in any significant changes before Saturday's sprint race. However, the Italian admitted that Pirelli and the FIA must be observant for the rest of the weekend.

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