F1: 2023 Qatar GP Preview

Formula 1 marked new territory in 2021 when it visited Qatar for the first time, with long-term MotoGP venue Lusail hosting the championship.

After a break in 2022 for Qatar to host the FIFA World Cup, Formula 1 has returned to the Gulf island state, and to a renovated and refreshed Lusail.

The circuit layout has not been altered since 2021’s debut, but the facilities have been upgraded to meet Formula 1’s standards, with new pits and paddock complex, revamped surroundings for increased spectator capacity, while the event itself becomes a fully-fledged night race.

This year’s event marks the first in a 10-season deal between Formula 1 and organizers in Qatar, sealing Lusail’s place on the calendar for the long run.

Lusail is known as a high-energy circuit, with sequences of medium- and high-speed long-radius turns linked by full-throttle blasts. Only once across the course of a qualifying lap around the 5.4km 16-turn circuit do drivers need to dip below fourth gear, with Lusail’s greatest challenge coming through Turns 12-13-14, three right-hand corners taken in seventh gear in quick succession. That puts a high-energy load through the tires, even in cooler nighttime conditions, while the situation is accentuated by the need to utilize the aggressive entry and exit curbs for maximum apex speed.

Downtown

Qatar is a modern place. The skyscrapers in Doha’s business district – an architectural smorgasbord that is best enjoyed from across the water, at the excellent Museum of Islamic Art, itself the work and vision of I.M. Pei – are as much a testament to the future-oriented approach of the country as its shiny new metro and other sporting and shopping marvels that sprouted up in recent decades, not least for last year’s football World Cup.

Long gone are the days when the tallest building in town was the Sheraton hotel, perched at the north end of the Corniche: the pyramid-like structure looks diminutive now, dwarfed by its towering neighbors, and stands as a reminder of a bygone era for a state that moved on with the times.

And yet, for all the steel-and-glass bravado exhibited in the ubiquitous towers, for all the opulence on display in the finest malls one can compromise their wallet in, there’s a romantic side to Qatar, one that can be found away from the latest addition to its architectural compendium. In Doha, you’re never far from the soul of old Qatar.

The Katara Cultural Village may give you a hint of what the past would have been, but it’s Souq Waqif where this all comes to life. Like a scene lift from Aladdin, or a setting for One Thousand and One Nights, the Souq takes you back to a more visceral, authentic Qatar. Labyrinthine alleyways, merchants, voices and noises from yesteryear come back to life; the smells of food, of spices, transport you to a different world, one of dhows, of pearl divers and of traders.

Souq Waqif may not be fully original: most of it burned to the ground in the early 90s. But it’s authentic, having been rebuilt and restored according to how history had it, even demolishing newer buildings to bring back to life those of tradition. Take a stroll through the maze of streets and you realize nothing is placed willy-nilly: there’s a reasoning for why things are done that way, for how the animal souq is laid out or where the falcon souq is placed.

Race Insight

• Race interruptions: Data is limited due to only one previous running of the Qatar Grand Prix, during which there was a sole Virtual Safety Car period. Ample run-off areas mean there’s less chance for cars or debris to get stuck on track therefore reducing the chance of race interruptions.
  Overtaking: With just one DRS zone, it’s difficult to pass at Lusail – but, excluding Lap One, there were 41 overtakes in the 2021 race, which shows that it is still possible to make moves.
  Strategy: The track has been completely resurfaced since 2021 so teams will need to learn how the tires – C1, C2 and C3 compounds allocated by Pirelli – behave on the new surface and factor this into their race strategy.

Unlocking the Lap

Lusail begins with a fast right-hander and a short blast to a fast left-hand bend.

Both opening corners are on-camber, meaning drivers can carry plenty of speed through the apex and out. Turns Four and Five are high-speed right-handers that blend into one another, almost making for one continuous long turn.

The middle sector is the most testing, beginning with the Turn Six hairpin – the slowest corner on the circuit that opens up into the long right-hairpin of Turn Seven. Turns Eight and Nine are full throttle, and Turn 10 is a rapid left-hander.

Turn 12 is a triple-apex right-hander – much like Turkey’s Turn Eight or COTA’s Turn 17 – that drivers on new tires and low fuel will relish. Turn 15 is a rapid left-hander that might demand a downshift during the race when running on high fuel or worn tires. The pit entry comes just before the final corner, which is a high-speed left-hand corner that leads onto the main straight.

How do F1 teams cope with the intense heat of Qatar?

With an average temperature of 35 degrees Celsius in October, we won’t visit a hotter country than Qatar for the remainder of the season. Staying cool is crucial: drivers often wear cooling vests in the build-up to sessions. These vests are filled with ice or a gel and cooled in the freezer beforehand.

When drivers are waiting in the cockpit on the grid, or in the garage, team members use high-powered fans with dry ice to keep them cool. As soon as the cars return to the pits after a session, their engines are also cooled with large fans that are inserted into the air intakes. Brakes can also be cooled in a similar manner.

The Singapore Grand Prix is still considered the most physically demanding race of the season given its intense heat and humidity, and drivers train in representative conditions to ensure they’re up to the task – but that training will serve them well for the demands of Qatar.

Weather Outlook

Qatar is one of the driest countries in the world with around 70 millimeters of precipitation per year – while Singapore sees nearly 2,500mm per year. It is therefore no surprise that the chance of rain is zero percent throughout the weekend of the Qatar Grand Prix.

On Friday, it’s set to be sunny and dry with an increasing northwesterly wind. Drivers will have to contend with gusts of up to 50 km/h in the afternoon, and temperatures of 31 degrees Celsius for Qualifying.

On Saturday, the northwesterly wind and strong gusts remain. Temperatures will hover around 36 degrees Celsius for the Sprint Shootout and 31 degrees for the following Sprint Race.

On Sunday, the wind eases and faces north for the race, where temperatures are set to hover around 30 degrees Celsius.

A word from the Soon-To-Be 3-time World Champion Max Verstappen

“It feels good to be heading to Qatar with the Constructors’ Championship secured. The track there is really fun to drive, although it’s going to be a tough weekend for all of us as it’s so hot there.

“The temperatures will definitely make it interesting. This weekend is also a Sprint race so we need to make sure we learn as much as we can from the practice session on Friday.

“The Drivers’ Championship can also be won during the Sprint race on Saturday so that is our main aim.

“Hopefully it will be a weekend to remember!”

Fact File: Qatar Grand Prix

• The F1 Sprint returns for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix back in August.
• This will be the fourth sprint event of the season, following Baku, Austria, and Spa.
• There are still two more sprint events to come before the end of the season: the United States Grand Prix in Austin and the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos.
• Following F1’s inaugural visit to the Lusail International Circuit back in 2021, the circuit has been completely resurfaced.
• Understanding how this has impacted on grip and tire degradation will be a key focus for the team during FP1.
• That will be particularly crucial this weekend as we enter parc fermé conditions ahead of qualifying on Friday evening.
• A completely new pit and paddock complex has been constructed at the track in time for this year’s race.
• This will include larger pit garages, new team buildings, and new access tunnels.
• Temperatures during the day in Doha are forecast to reach close to 40°C this week.
• Qualifying, the F1 Sprint, and the Grand Prix itself take place at night, and therefore temperatures are expected to average a more comfortable 27°C.
• However, FP1 and the Sprint Shootout will take place before sunset and temperatures, and thus track conditions, could therefore vary quite dramatically.
• The race in 2021 saw a number of punctures attributed to the flatter curbs of the Lusail circuit. Unspecified work has been carried out on these ahead of this year’s race so that will be a focus of understanding ahead of running on Friday.
• The track has a fast and flowing nature as it is predominantly used for motorcycle racing.
• There is only one corner, turn six, that sees the minimum speed drop below 100 km/h.
• There are therefore no heavy braking events for us to tackle, a unique occurrence on the 2023 calendar.
• The braking energy requirement is therefore low; there are still six braking events that the cars encounter across the lap.
• There are 16 corners in total: 10 to the right and six to the left. The track’s main straight covers over 1km of the total lap distance and is the sole DRS zone on the circuit.
• The pit lane in Qatar is the third longest of any circuit we visit on the calendar, behind only Imola and Silverstone.
• It clocks in at 450 meters, and the expected pit lane time is over 20 seconds.

Pirelli Tires

MARIO ISOLA – PIRELLI HEAD OF MOTORSPORT

“Formula 1 now returns to Qatar, two years after its debut there in 2021. But in many ways, it’s another new beginning, as the cars are now very different to the ones we saw a couple of years ago and the Losail circuit has been completely resurfaced, with modified curbs as well. On paper, the track’s main features remain the same – with a main straight just over a kilometer long and 16 corners – but it’s clear that the changes made over the last two years mean that the data collected from the first grand prix is only relatively useful.

In terms of severity, Losail is a very challenging circuit for tires, similar to Silverstone and Suzuka. So it’s no coincidence that the compounds chosen are the same: C1, C2, and C3. There’s quite a variety of corners, most of them medium speed and high speed. The series of corners between Turns 12 and 14 is quite reminiscent of the famous Turn 8 at Istanbul: one of the most demanding corners for tires in the recent history of Formula 1. This sequence is also one of the most influential factors to a good lap time. The fact that 11 of the 16 corners are right-handers puts particular stress on the left of the car, especially at the front, but the energy levels seen going through the tires in 2021 were still quite well-balanced between the two axles.

Another factor making the Qatar Grand Prix even more challenging for us as well as the drivers and the teams is the return of the Sprint format. Just one hour of free practice will be available on Friday to determine the set-up and assess tire behavior over long runs; furthermore that session happens in the heat of the day – which will warm up the asphalt – as opposed to qualifying and the two races, which take place at night. So everything is in place for an interesting weekend as well as perhaps a few surprises; the ability to adapt quickly and well to the track could deliver a significant advantage.”

THE TIRES ON TRACK 

• For the Qatar Grand Prix, teams will have C1 as P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft. This is the same nomination made for the previous race, in Japan.
• As well as new asphalt, there is also new infrastructure at Losail. The pit garages, originally designed for MotoGP, have been enlarged and increased in number. There’s also a new race control facility and media center.
• The only Qatar Grand Prix held so far was won by Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver, who started from pole, won ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull (which set fastest lap) and Fernando Alonso, driving for Alpine at the time.
• A wide range of strategies was seen two years ago. Half the drivers started on Softs with the other half on Mediums, while the number of pit stops varied from one to three. Hamilton won with a two-stopper, completing two initial stints on the medium tire before a final stint on the Hard.
• Doha will be a night race, with qualifying and the grand prix starting at 20:00 (local time). On Saturday, the Sprint Shootout will start at 16:00 and the Sprint race itself at 20:30. There are no support races on the schedule, which means that the track will not be rubbered in from other cars.
• Although some green spaces were specifically built around the circuit, sand often blows onto the surface from the surrounding desert. This makes track evolution another key factor, which will be accentuated by the new asphalt.Ambient temperatures are high in Qatar at this time of year, peaking beyond 40°C during the week leading up to the race. But the later time of the sessions compared to 2021 should lead to a wider temperature range than was seen two years ago.