All info you need to see before the 2024 Qatar F1 GP starts

The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will be the 23rd race of the Formula 1 season, and there are still three teams fighting for the World Constructors' Championship.

McLaren’s Lead in 2024 WCC Faces Threat Ahead of Qatar

After Red Bull's Max Verstappen sealed his World Drivers' Championship in Las Vegas a week ago, we now shift focus to the WCC. McLaren (Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri) continue leading the teams' standings with 608 points, but they are coming off a dismal weekend at Las Vegas with only sixth and seventh to show for Sunday's event.

The Scuderia Ferrari (Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz) is second in the 2024 World Constructors' Championship with 584 points. On their side, Red Bull (Verstappen and Sergio Pérez) are third in the WCC with 555 points.

With the upcoming Sprint event in Qatar (the sixth and last of the season), there are 103 points available for teams (44 at each Grand Prix left and 15 at Qatar's Grand Prix).

Teams can score a maximum of 44 points during Sunday's race if they take a 1-2 and the Fastest Lap. In the Sprint races, 15 points is the maximum, as the winner takes eight points and second place gets seven.

McLaren seems comfortable at the top, but their form in Las Vegas should be a worry, while a team like Mercedes could play a good role in this fight, taking points off the main competitors.

Mercedes is coming off a dominant 1-2 at Las Vegas, with George Russell winning the race and Lewis Hamilton finishing second.

2024 Qatar GP Facts & Figures

The 2024 edition will be the third Qatar Grand Prix in Formula 1 history. The race was not part of the 2022 season due to the FIFA World Cup being celebrated in the country, but it returned successfully in 2023.

The event will be run as a night race, starting at 19:00 local time. The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will also host the sixth and final Sprint race of the season. In 2023, Max Verstappen won his third F1 title during Saturday's Sprint race. Also, the 2023 edition was held in early October, and drivers struggled mightily due to the hot conditions.

Moreover, the 2023 race saw mandated stints for the tyres, as Pirelli had safety concerns about the compounds. Also, Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton crashed at the start of Sunday's race, with Hamilton retiring due to damage.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 race for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen won the 2023 edition.

Losail International Circuit Track Info

The Losail International Circuit debuted in Formula 1 with a normal race in 2021 but with significant implications in the title fight. It was expected that the circuit would not return to F1, as there were plans to build a new venue for the Grand Prix from 2023 on. However, it will host the Qatar GP for the third time.

The track is a 5.419 km long circuit with 16 corners and a 1.068 km main straight. Apart from hosting Grand Prix motorcycle racing events since 2004, the Losail International Circuit has also received the Superbike World Championship, the FIA WTCC (current FIA WTCR) and other series like the GP2 Asia (Sergio Pérez won at the venue in 2009).

The MotoGP events have been at night since 2008.

Turn 1 will be the main, and possibly the only, overtaking zone at the venue, with the only DRS positioned on the main straight.

The event will be run to 308.611 kilometers (57 laps).

2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will be the C1 as P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft.

Pirelli explained its view for the weekend: "Formula 1’s final fortnight of the season sees the circus head back to the Middle East. While the Drivers’ title is now done and dusted with Max Verstappen crowned for a fourth consecutive year, for the three teams still in with a chance of claiming the Constructors’ title, McLaren leading Ferrari and Red Bull, there is still everything to play for with 103 points on the table.

The last back-to-back of this the longest ever Formula 1 season, gets underway in Qatar, the sixth Grand Prix weekend to be run to the Sprint format this year. 13,000 kilometres as the crow flies and an eleven hour time difference separate Doha from Las Vegas.

They are both night races, held on the edge of large deserts, but that’s where the similarities end. In Nevada, drivers had to deal with a street circuit featuring medium to low speed corners with air and track temperatures only just above the 10 °C mark. In Qatar on the other hand, the Grand Prix is held on a permanent circuit with medium-high speed corners and ambient temperatures around the 25 °C mark.

When it comes to the tyres to be used, only the C3 is carried over from Vegas. In fact, at the Lusail track, the tyres are subjected to energy levels comparable to those at Suzuka and Silverstone and so the hardest trio of compounds in the 2024 range will be used, with the aforementioned C3 as Soft, the C2 as Medium and the C1 as Hard.

This is the third edition of the Qatar Grand Prix, the two previous events having been held in 2021 and 2023. Last year the weekend was affected by a decision taken by the FIA, imposing a maximum of 18 on the number of laps that one set of tyres could complete in the race, which led to all the drivers making three pit stops. The Race Director’s decision was deemed necessary after a notification from the Pirelli engineers.

Following the usual analysis of the tyres returned to them by the teams after the first and second day of track activity, they pointed out the possibility of micro-lacerations in the sidewalls between the tread compound and the carcass cords, caused by impact generated from repeatedly driving over the kerbs at some corners.

Over the past few months, the FIA and Pirelli have worked together to prepare for this Grand Prix to ensure that what happened in 2023 will not be repeated. The pyramid-shaped kerbs have had their tips rounded off at seven of the track’s 16 corners: the first two after the start, turns 4 and 10 and the three from 12 to 14, the section that had most stressed the sides of the tyres.

Engineers in the Pirelli Motorsport R&D department have carried out extensive and lengthy tests on the dynamic test beds in Milan, using a sample of the new kerbs supplied by the FIA. Furthermore, the engineers also analysed tyres from tests carried out by some Formula 1 teams in recent weeks at the Lusail circuit, running pre-2024 cars. Even though the tyres were obviously not identical to those from the 2024 range, the acquired data has still been useful to confirm the results of simulations and the indications from the test bed.

It should also be noted that the FIA has ensured that a gravel strip is added to the outside of some kerbs to dissuade drivers from overstepping the mark in order to go quicker.

Another feature of last year’s race was the very high humidity level on Sunday which, combined with the rather high temperatures of a Qatari October, made life very physically demanding for the drivers, so much so that some of them felt ill because of the heat in the cockpit and one driver even had to retire from the race. This year the situation should be better in this respect as the race is taking place over one month later.

However, the conditions last year led to a recent decision from the FIA World Council to authorise the use of a standardised cooling system in the cockpit at the hottest Grands Prix, as from next year.

However, it’s hard to avoid the high temperatures emanating from the Lusail track which was resurfaced in time for last year’s Grand Prix, to the extent that graining could be a feature, as it was in Las Vegas, albeit for opposite reasons: in Nevada it was caused by the cold and the lack of grip leading to the tyres sliding on the asphalt, causing abrasion of the tyre surface. This could have a significant impact on race strategy with the tyres possibly suffering from significant thermal degradation. Furthermore, there are so few precedents to these conditions that for now it is impossible to make predictions.

Leaving aside the events of 2023, it should be remembered that, in 2021, some drivers only made one pit stop and others, like Hamilton and Verstappen who finished first and second, fought for the win running a two-stop strategy. While keeping in mind that 2021 featured cars from the previous generation, therefore with very different tyre compounds, there were many different choices made in terms of compounds used, as indeed was the case in last year’s Sprint when 12 drivers started on the Medium and eight on the Soft."

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 26.0 PSI (front) and 22.5 PSI (rear).

2024 Qatar Grand Prix - Weather Forecast

Friday, Nov 29th - FP & Sprint Qualifying
Conditions: Clear to partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 23°C
Chance of rain: 0%

Saturday, Nov 30th - Sprint Race & Qualifying
Conditions: Clear
Max. temperature: 24°C
Chance of rain: 0%

Sunday, Dec 1st - Race
Conditions: Clear
Max. temperature: 24°C
Chance of rain: 0%

Who will be on the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix podium?

2023 Qatar F1 Podium: Race winner Max Verstappen, 2nd Oscar Piastri & 3rd Lando Norris

As Formula 1 heads to the Lusail International Circuit for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, the stakes couldn't be higher. This high-speed, floodlit desert track has been a thrilling addition to the calendar, rewarding raw pace, tire management, and strategic brilliance. With recent races shaking up the season’s hierarchy, let’s dive into the likely podium contenders for this weekend.

Despite Red Bull's struggles earlier in the season, Max Verstappen has consistently proven his mettle under pressure. The Dutchman’s mastery of tire degradation and his unparalleled ability to extract maximum performance on technical circuits make him a favorite in Qatar. Verstappen dominated here in 2023 and performed strongly again in 2021, taking full advantage of the track's high-speed corners and long straights. While Red Bull isn't as dominant as in previous years, Verstappen's determination and adaptability could see him back on the top step of the podium.

Lando Norris has been in scintillating form this season, with McLaren emerging as a formidable challenger to Red Bull. McLaren's upgrades in recent months have enhanced their performance in medium-to-high-speed circuits like Lusail, and Norris has shown an affinity for this track, earning a strong P2 finish in 2023. If McLaren continues to nail its race strategy and optimize tire usage in the hot, abrasive conditions, Norris could well challenge Verstappen for victory or secure another solid second place.

A veteran of the sport, Lewis Hamilton knows how to capitalize on opportunities in challenging conditions. The seven-time champion has a solid record in Qatar, clinching victory in the inaugural race in 2021 with a commanding performance. While Mercedes has been inconsistent this year, Hamilton's ability to outperform the car and make bold strategic calls cannot be underestimated. Expect Hamilton to fight tooth and nail for a podium, especially with his record of excelling under the lights.

The prediction for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix is: 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lando Norris, 3. Lewis Hamilton.

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