PRIXVIEW – Qatar Grand Prix

Round twenty-three and the penultimate Grand Prix and final Sprint weekend of the season brings F1 to Lusail, Qatar’s second city. Lusail joined the calendar properly in 2023 and became the third full-night race, along with Singapore, Jeddah and Las Vegas, having been brought in in 2021 as a replacement for Melbourne and signed a long-term deal.

Built for MotoGP at the same time as neighbouring Bahrain, with one of its long straights and twisty in-field section in sector two, which provides opportunities for overtaking. It is still, however a new circuit for F1 and it has been slightly lengthened for this year with a new pit paddock complex, as well as increased capacity.

MotoGP made its debut here in the same season F1 came to the region back in 2004, but while it had been used for GP2 and testing before joining the calendar as a stand-in race in 2021, the teams enjoyed the return to Lusail to race for the first time.

The circuit is designed mainly for motorbikes it was brought in after years of trying to get an F1 race during the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing Melbourne in 2021, as well as signing a ten-year deal starting in 2023 to host the race. This makes it fast and flowing with it mixed with hard braking zones mixed in, creating opportunities for overtaking, and has given plenty of action in both the sprint and the two Grands Prix here.

Similar to neighbouring Sakhir, Bahrain a fast-flowing circuit with a mixture of straights and a twister outfield section. Made up of a mixture of high and medium-speed corners, which last time provided for some overtaking, but this was under the previous regulations, which will likely increase in the midfield given how tight it has been this season.

Built for MotoGP at the same time as neighbouring Bahrain, with one of its long straights and twisty in-field sections in sector two, which provides opportunities for overtaking. It is still however, a new circuit for F1, and it has been slightly lengthened in recent years with a new pit paddock complex, as well as increased capacity.

MotoGP made its debut here in the same season F1 came to the region back in 2004, but while it had been used for GP2 and testing before joining the calendar as a stand-in race in 2021 the teams enjoyed the return to Lusail to race for the first time. Last year the race became a full night race, having been a twilight race in 2021.

The circuit is designed mainly for motorbikes it was brought in after years of trying to get an F1 race during the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing Melbourne in 2021, as well as signing a ten-year deal starting in 2023 to host the race. This makes it fast and flowing with it mixed with hard braking zones mixed in, creating opportunities for overtaking, and has given plenty of action in both the sprint and the two Grands Prix here.

Similar to neighbouring Sakhir, Bahrain a fast-flowing circuit with a mixture of straights and a twister outfield section. Made up of a mixture of high and medium-speed corners, which creates opportunities for overtaking, as it was designed for motorbikes, many of the sweeping corners are good here for getting alongside each other.

The circuit is demanding on tyres and in the past and for this year’s race, Pirelli have put in maximum stint lengths which alters the strategy as teams will know that their rivals will be able to work out when their stops will be.

Race & Circuit Guide

How Lando Norris becomes champion

Lando Norris will be champion if he is ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen by twenty-five points by the end of Sunday. He must have a thirty-three-point lead by the end of the weekend. The simplest way for Norris to do this is to simply out-score Piastri and Verstappen by two points across the weekend.

That means if Norris wins the grand prix, he will be the 2025 world champion. He cannot do this in the sprint on Saturday, even if Piastri or Verstappen were to retire or not score, as he would be eighteen points short.

In short if Piastri or Verstappen were to finish second in both races, they would be tied on points; however, Piastri are currently tied on wins so if they were to both win in the next two races and tie on points, Norris would be the champion, having scored more second places

Fast facts

• After F1 raced in Qatar for the first time in 2021, the sport moved to Saudi Arabia for the first race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. It was the first time that there were two successive races at new venues since the 1970 German and Austrian Grands Prix.
• Qatar gets only nine days’ worth of rain in a year, but it managed to cause havoc with the 2009 MotoGP race at Lusail Circuit. Poor weather conditions saw the race delayed by one day, taking place on a Monday!
• McLaren recorded their 500th podium finish over the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Ferrari was the only team to achieve the feat before McLaren did so.
• For a while, Lusail Circuit was the largest-lit sporting venue in the world. Its title was taken by Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi when it opened in 2009.
• Max Verstappen’s title win in 2023 saw Qatar become the 22nd different country in which the Drivers’ Championship had been decided.

Event timetable

What happened in 2024?

Practice saw Charles Leclerc top the session with a 21.965, which put him just over four tenths faster than the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The two leading teams were comfortably quickest, though Leclerc set his fastest time on the soft tyre while the McLaren was on the slower medium, though Norris was nearly half a tenth faster than Piastri.

Sprint Qualifying saw Norris beat George Russell to pole with a 21.012; the McLaren driver topped all three sessions as he bounced back after losing the championship five days earlier in Vegas. It denied McLaren a front row lockout as he pipped Piastri by just under a tenth. Ferrari continued to show they had some pace. Max Verstappen was never in the mix in his Red Bull and could only manage sixth.

Sprint saw Piastri handed victory following a dispute in Sao Paulo over team orders when the Australian handed Norris a place, the Englishman yielded the position at the final corner, allowing Piastri to take a tenths victory. Norris looked to have the pace to pull away from his teammate but without team orders, decided to keep Piastri in DRS range before allowing him to overtake.

Russell had tried to pass Piastri early on, but the McLaren driver fended off the Mercedes early on, thanks in part to the DRS tow given by Norris, but Russell once again looked to try and pass the Melburnian, but he had more than enough to fend off the Mercedes attack. Russell also proved Mercedes had pace as he kept Carlos Sainz behind to finish three and three-quarters of a second ahead.

GP Qualifying saw Verstappen beat Russell by half a tenth to pole as he went half a second faster than Norris managed yesterday, but the Englishman couldn’t replicate the same pace he managed yesterday during sprint qualifying or his first run in Q3. But the Mercedes was angry with Verstappen blocking him, which resulted in a one-place grid penalty

Verstappen went on to win a chaotic and drama-filled Grand Prix he swept around the outside of Russell at the first corner to control the remainder of the race but it wasn’t enough to keep his Red Bull team in the constructors’ championship. The Red Bull driver finished the race six seconds ahead of Leclerc, while Norris was effectively taken out of the fight when he had a slow stop.

This allowed Ferrari to cut the advantage of McLaren to twenty-one points going into the final race. The penalty not only cost Norris but Piastri, who was then undercut by Leclerc allowing him to secure second by just under a eight tenths. Russell was unable to fight from pole with the Red Bull before losing places to Norris and Leclerc to finish fourth, the Englishman finishing seven seconds on the road behind Piastri before being given a five-second time penalty for a safety car infringement.

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Championship Standings

What to watch for?

This weekend is the first opportunity, though it’s a slim one, where Lando Norris can mathematically win the title, but he needs to win the Grand Prix and score at least a point in the sprint. I think as we have seen him rise stronger this season after setbacks, the disqualification on Saturday has made the calculations easier for Norris, who has in my view, across the season.

This weekend will and could be the biggest weekend of both Norris life and career as he could become the first driver to take a double for McLaren in over twenty-five years to do the double. If he were to win, I think it could be the first of many, though its difficult to predict the future, but he will be a driver in demand for the rest of his career.

I think Lusail will again play to the strengths of McLaren as it’s a high-speed circuit with fast-flowing corners also we are in a very different desert to Nevada. We saw in these warmer climates the car performs well, and they won in Sakhir and Jeddah back in April. These straights are also to McLaren, where they are able to pull ahead and take victory, momentum I think is and has been in these closing races been with Norris despite the setback in Vegas.

I feel once again, both qualifying sessions will be tight as Lusail is almost like a go-kart track, and we have seen very fine margins over these final races to get through to Q2 and Q3, and though the risk of a red flag is lower, it could be about getting the lap in as late as possible as it cools down

I don’t think Max Verstappen’s threat I don’t think has changed despite the win in Vegas because we know the car isn’t a match for McLaren, as Red Bull has struggled for consistency and though he has pulled out some exceptional results. I think that while mathematically he could take the championship, it would require a disastrous final two weekends for both McLaren’s and him winning the sprint and both Grands Prix.

Red Bull are the biggest and smallest outside threat over these final two races to stop McLaren from doing the double. But they have lost ground and have been overtaken by Mercedes in the constructors; they inherited a double podium after McLaren being disqualified in Vegas. It will be interesting because, of as we said above, can they perform in the warmer desert when they have been stronger.

Ferrari, I think, will need to write off the remainder of this season, they need a win which will be a huge morale boost for them going into the winter but I don’t think that is going to be possible. It would be however, be a good story for the end of the season, and Lewis Hamilton is looking at his third grand prix winless season.

2023 vs 2024 Race Data

2024 Lap time comparison

Tyres