What the Losail dash race and qualifying inform us concerning the 2024 F1 Qatar GP

Both facet of the Interlagos wildness, the opposite last dash occasions of the 2024 System 1 season bear important similarities that pile concentrate on Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers. The important thing distinction between Austin and Qatar, nevertheless, is that to this point each McLaren and Mercedes have dominated the victory hunt.

The prospect of a four-team win scrap over what is predicted to be the primary regular grand prix on the Losail circuit since its inaugural 2021 occasion – Pirelli nonetheless hasn’t seen something just like the minuscule sidewall lacerations that so modified race day right here final 12 months – is tantalising.

Verstappen had been set to go a GP grid for the primary time since June’s Austria spherical, however his one-place penalty for impeding George Russell on their last preparation laps on the finish of Q3 means he’ll now begin second. This might have a further knock-on influence for his race, given one thing Russell had been complaining about after beginning second within the dash.

REPORT: Verstappen loses Qatar GP pole after one-place grid penalty

However earlier than all that, Verstappen had been delighted that Purple Bull had pulled off “a miracle” in adapting his automotive steadiness in comparison with dash qualifying and the weekend’s first race.

“It was all fairly shut, nevertheless it felt simply much more related for me,” Verstappen stated of his improved dealing with within the post-qualifying press convention. “And, yeah, that was positively needed. Then you may assault the corners a bit extra.”

In addition to making what Purple Bull workforce boss Christian Horner referred to as “aggressive” set-up changes, Verstappen additionally considerably altered his qualifying prep lap plans for the second session in opposition to the clock.

As a substitute of going for a flying lap after two warm-up excursions, from Q2 onwards yesterday, Verstappen was pushing after one prep lap, then backing off for 2 cooldown excursions earlier than going once more for his pukka effort. The Dutchman used this association to set his finest instances in heading each Q2 and Q3, having not executed so and regarded pretty atypical in Q1, 0.3s again from Russell’s finest at that stage.

The “problem of the weekend” for the tyres, per Pirelli motorsport boss Mario Isola, is to get each axles into the slender temperature window – with no huge stops into sluggish corners to warmth the rear tyres when powering away from such turns. It appears Verstappen’s changes mixed completely to hit the sweetspot, with the wind additionally blowing a lot more durable on Saturday – an element that has been identified to rework the RB20 beforehand.

Even earlier than he was penalised, Verstappen, though clearly happier together with his automotive dealing with in comparison with the oversteer nightmare he’d endured within the dash, was nonetheless cautious that he could not have the perfect race tempo to deploy in the principle occasion. That is given he was additionally pretty glad with the RB20 over one lap on the softs that received’t be used within the race for the leaders throughout dash qualifying.

“[My GP race pace potential is] nonetheless a little bit of a query mark,” stated Verstappen. “I did really feel that [on Friday] we weren’t too far off in qualifying after which I felt like we have been fairly far off within the dash…”

General, the dash each offered clues on GP tempo prediction and hid them too

McLaren went from main Friday’s pure efficiency operating to trailing each Purple Bull and Mercedes – though Russell’s engine mapping confusion on the demise in SQ3 skews the image as he would possibly’ve topped that session with out it.

On why his drivers had slipped again results-wise, McLaren workforce boss Andrea Stella urged they’d needed to push more durable with even stiffer qualifying opposition the second time round and that this meant they struggled to hit the tyre sweetspot fairly as effectively.

With Verstappen’s penalty, Russell now strikes to his second pole in per week, with the Mercedes boosted once more by its workforce realizing it might “get the automotive low and stiff on a easy observe”- in keeping with the Briton.

Watching trackside from FP1, proper from the off the W15s have been clearly operating extraordinarily low to the bottom – sparking closely and sending a clouds of detritus flying from each kerb within the high-speed blasts of the ultimate sector right here.

Sparks and straightline pace for Mercedes in Qatar

Photograph by: Andy Hone

Norris reckoned he was “dropping an excellent quantity within the straights evaluating to the others” and defined that was “actually downforce” stage selection. By operating a contact extra wing angle, the McLarens ought to get a tyre administration increase for the GP, in that they may slide barely much less when urgent on via the high-speed corners in clear air or not.

General, the dash each offered clues on GP tempo prediction and hid them too. When it comes to how that additional downforce would possibly make the McLarens simple targets down the lengthy major straight right here, Russell, who couldn’t get by Oscar Piastri when Norris labored laborious to create the DRS practice on the entrance of the sector earlier than giving his team-mate the dash win, was caught even with a close to 4mph high pace benefit aboard the W15.

However, with Verstappen’s terrible dealing with which means his dash race tempo is unrepresentative for GP prediction consideration, the tempo potential of each McLaren and Mercedes was additionally masked. On this case by Norris’s DRS techniques.

He clearly might’ve pushed on forward of Piastri had he not “spent extra time watching the mirrors than watching forward”, per Stella. Russell too, would’ve been in a position to present stronger laptime averages had he not been caught behind the slower McLaren.

For what it’s price, of those Norris’s common to the ultimate lap got here in at 1m25.260s, whereas Russell’s was 1m25.255s – basically nothing in it. However there was a driver clearly faster than each – albeit with the caveats of how the McLaren DRS practice impacted Norris and Russell total.

In shades of Ferrari’s Austin dash type, this comes from the 1m24.621s common Charles Leclerc produced over the ultimate six laps of the race for Ferrari. This got here after he’d handed his soon-to-be new team-mate Lewis Hamilton in an exhilarating wheel-to-wheel scrap throughout sector one simply previous the dash’s midway level.

Leclerc, who was clearly treating his mediums gently early within the race having been bottled behind his present team-mate Carlos Sainz exiting the primary nook, completed 3.7s again from the Spaniard. Sainz’s dash tempo because the lead Ferrari was additionally masked by being caught within the lead DRS practice behind Russell.

Ferrari have been lurking within the background to this point. May or not it’s their time to shine within the grand prix?

Photograph by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Photos

However Stella was additionally moved to level out that Ferrari was “very quick within the dash, so I believe coping with Ferrari can be simply because they’re quick and they’re beginning proper behind” Norris and Piastri in fifth and seventh for the GP. Leclerc heads Sainz this time.

When it comes to race technique, Pirelli reckons a one-stopper of medium-hard is the quickest, however the drivers should watch out to handle their entrance lefts and a band of that tyre that can get close to to 100% put on over the 20-23 laps wanted to get the hards to the end after this, as a result of calls for of this very high-speed format. McLaren’s downforce stage could possibly be key to serving to the orange workforce address this.

Alone of the highest groups, Ferrari has no fall again of the medium-hard-hard two-stopper Pirelli reckons would be the second quickest technique as a result of it ran one its two units of the white-walled rubber on its vehicles in FP1. However that additionally means it has essential information none of its entrance operating rivals possess, together with Williams again within the pack.

“I hope the fellows can clear the observe a bit as a result of it was fairly clear within the dash that everybody on that proper facet made unhealthy begins and that is clearly a little bit bit unfair” George Russell

Additionally set to be a serious second of the race – that’s much more than typical – would be the begin.

With overtaking powerful on the first nook as a result of it isn’t truly that huge a cease – therefore the axle balancing problem for qualifying – getting set effectively early within the order can be essential for one explicit purpose.

And that is now the largest hazard to Verstappen (and Piastri and Sainz), as, after beginning second within the dash, Russell reckoned an absence of grip away from the racing line is “most likely about one and a half vehicles size distinction from the within all the best way to Flip 1” for the vehicles on the right-hand facet of the grid.

“We usually decide it based mostly on distance in 4 seconds, and we expect it is most likely about 4 metres totally different left to proper,” he added. “It is fairly a giant distinction right here. I hope the fellows can clear the observe a bit as a result of it was fairly clear within the dash that everybody on that proper facet made unhealthy begins and that is clearly a little bit bit unfair to have these circumstances.”

There’s a marked distinction in begin efficiency on either side of the grid

Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Photos

When Autosport requested Isola about Russell’s feedback, he defined: “Due to the wind, due to the sand that is occurring observe, the racing line is way cleaner in comparison with the opposite line.

“The extent of grip is effected by the sand that’s flying on observe. The FIA is cleansing the observe rigorously earlier than the beginning of every F1 session – particularly earlier than the beginning of the race tomorrow.

“But when the wind is blowing, by the point that you just clear the observe, you will have the sand again. It’s actually tough to ensure that you’ve a clear observe. Help occasions are serving to on this respect. I imagine the forecast is consistent with [qualifying for the race in terms of wind strength]. Meaning we could have the sand…”

Who will come out on high below the lights on Sunday?

Photograph by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photos