Formula 1 News: 2024 Qatar GP Preview

Round 23 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship takes the Formula 1 teams to the Lusail International Circuit for the Qatar GP.

Qatar first joined Formula 1’s calendar in 2021, with the Lusail International Circuit stepping in when the championship required a replacement venue during the pandemic. Qatar focused on its duties as host nation for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 but returned to the Formula 1 calendar full-time in 2023 to begin a 10-season contract at a renovated Lusail. For 2024 Qatar moves from October to December to slot in as the penultimate round of the record-breaking season.

Lusail is a high-speed circuit that has an abundance of long-radius medium- and high-speed corners, connected by full-throttle blasts. Across its 16-corner 5.4km lap only once do drivers need to dip below fourth gear, such is the speed carried through the turns, with the biggest challenge the trio of right-hand seventh-gear corners of Turn 12, 13 and 14, which drivers tackle in quick succession. That puts high-energy levels through the tires, a predicament exacerbated by the requirement to attack Lusail’s aggressive entry and exit curbs, leading to tire supplier Pirelli having to mandate maximum stint lengths in 2023 for safety purposes.

Despite the night-based nature of Qatar’s event the temperature can also be a challenge, with hot ambient conditions accentuated last year by high humidity, which caused a severe physical trial for drivers. It is anticipated that such a predicament should be alleviated by the date shift of Qatar’s GP by almost two months.

Qatar’s 2024 GP will again feature F1 Sprint, marking the sixth and final running of the format for this year.

Coming from Las Vegas, the Qatar GP couldn’t be more different. The Lusail International Circuit has many high-speed sections and few, if any, big braking zones. Despite going there later in the calendar than last year, it will still be very warm. That is in contrast to the cool conditions and many slow speed sections of Las Vegas

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 two previous running of the Qatar GP, 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 in 2023 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. It’s hard to avoid the high temperatures emanating from the Lusail track which was resurfaced in time for last year’s GP, 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 tires sliding on the asphalt, causing abrasion of the tire surface. This could have a significant impact on race strategy, with the tires possibly suffering from significant thermal degradation. Furthermore, there are so few precedents to these conditions that for now it is impossible to make predictions.

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.

Weather Outlook

Friday, November 29: FP1 & Sprint Qualifying

While cold temperatures wreaked havoc with tire grip in Las Vegas this past weekend, that does not look like it will be an issue heading to Qatar.

With FP1 kicking off on Friday at 4:30 pm local time, temperatures in Lusail are expected to be around the 75 degrees F mark.

That will drop slightly when sprint qualifying gets underway later in the evening at 8:30 pm, with temperatures then expected to be approximately 66 degrees F.

There is less than a one percent chance of rain throughout the sessions in Lusail.

Saturday, November 30: Sprint & Qualifying

For Saturday’s sprint and grand prix qualifying, the track conditions are set to remain fairly similar.

The sprint is set to get underway at 5 pm local time and qualifying at 9 pm local time, with temperatures of 72 degrees F and 68F forecast respectively.

Once again, the threat of rain is almost non-existent, with a zero to one percent chance of precipitation.

Sunday, December 1: Race

Yet again on Sunday, temperatures are expected to remain in a very similar range.

That means that when the lights go out at 7 pm local time at the Lusail International Circuit, temperatures are predicted to be around the 70 degrees F mark.

Once again, the chances of rain are next to none, with just a one percent chance of precipitation during Sunday’s grand prix, while wind speeds will also remain low throughout the weekend’s action.

A word from 4-time World Champion Max Verstappen

“We stuck together, never gave up and came back stronger, and this is what makes the season so special

“Winning the Championship was an incredible moment and I’m so proud of what we have achieved as a Team and of myself too. This win really means a lot to us and being a four-time World Champion is something I never thought possible. I want to thank everyone part of this success for all the support this year, what a season we have had.

“There were difficult moments but we stuck together, never gave up and came back stronger, and this is what makes the season so special. Looking to Qatar, we are still focused for this race and it will be a busy one being a Sprint. Of course the season is not over yet and we still want to keep the momentum going and bring home as many points as we can for the Team, so bring on the next two races.”

Fact File: Qatar GP

• Following F1’s inaugural visit to the Lusail International Circuit back in 2021, the circuit was completely resurfaced ahead of its second race in 2023.
• A completely new pit and paddock complex was also constructed in the run up to last season’s race.
• This included larger pit garages, new team buildings, and new access tunnels.
• Temperatures during the day in Doha last year reached close to 40°C, and several drivers found the conditions incredibly tough, as the race was held earlier in the year in early October.
• 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 the cars to tackle, a unique occurrence on the 2024 calendar.
• While the braking energy requirement is 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 502 meters and the expected pit lane time is over 20 seconds.
• 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.

Pirelli Tires

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 GP weekend to be run to the Sprint format this year. 13,000 kilometers 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 50 °F mark. In Qatar on the other hand, the GP is held on a permanent circuit with medium-high speed corners and ambient temperatures around the 75 °F mark.

When it comes to the tires to be used, only the C3 is carried over from Vegas. In fact, at the Lusail track, the tires 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 GP, 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 tires 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 tires 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 curbs at some corners.

Over the past few months, the FIA and Pirelli have worked together to prepare for this GP to ensure that what happened in 2023 will not be repeated. The pyramid-shaped curbs 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 tires. 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 curbs supplied by the FIA. Furthermore, the engineers also analyzed tires from tests carried out by some Formula 1 teams in recent weeks at the Lusail circuit, running pre-2024 cars. Even though the tires 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 curbs 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 authorize the use of a standardized 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 GP, 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 tires sliding on the asphalt, causing abrasion of the tire surface. This could have a significant impact on race strategy, with the tires 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 tire 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.

In the two editions of this event to date, the spoils of victory and pole positions have been shared equally between Hamilton and Verstappen, the only ways to split them being that the Dutchman has the advantage, having recorded the race fastest lap on both occasions, as well as finishing second in 2021. The other podium finishers are Alonso, who was third for Alpine in 2021, and Piastri and Norris, respectively second and third last year.

The Qatar GP weekend is also the penultimate round of two series that usually run in conjunction with Formula 1, namely Formula 2 and the F1 Academy, both having Pirelli as their sole tire supplier