A few days on from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Formula 1 is back in the Persian Gulf, having travelled over 13,000 kilometres to tackle the penultimate round of the season, the Qatar Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit. It is also the sixth and final Sprint weekend of the year.
The circuit. Lusail boasts one of the most modern circuits on the calendar, its layout featuring long sequences of fast corners taken at great speed which makes overtaking quite tricky. Essentially, it is possible at two points, braking for turn 1 at the end of the long main straight and going into turn 6.
Weather. Of course, it is going to be hot this weekend, although according to the forecast it won’t reach the levels experienced in 2023, when the race was held in September. It’s also almost certain that it should not rain given the circuit’s desert location, but wind and sand will still have to be taken into consideration.
Tyres and strategy. The major change to the event this year concerns the tyres. Each set of tyres can only be used to cover a maximum of 25 laps of the Qatari track across the whole weekend. The decision, taken by the FIA, Formula 1 and Pirelli, is linked to the lateral forces generated at this track and the particularly severe tread wear, which was seen in data from the 2024 event. As the race is run over 57 laps, it automatically means that drivers will have to make a minimum of two pit stops to change tyres, while the teams will have to keep a watchful eye on how many laps each set has done. The three compounds in question for this Sprint weekend are the hardest in the range, C1 Hard, C2 Medium and C3 Soft.
Programme. There is just the one free practice session, on Friday at 16.30 (14.30 CET), followed by Sprint Qualifying at 20.30 (18.30 CET). On Saturday the 19 lap Sprint starts at 17.00 (15.00 CET) followed by qualifying for the Grand Prix at 21.00 (19.00) CET. The main event on Sunday gets underway at 19.00 (17.00 CET) run over 57 laps, for a distance of 308.611 kilometres.
Fred Vasseur Team Principal
After a challenging weekend in Vegas, we come to Qatar fully focused and looking forward to getting back on track. Lusail is a very different track, with high-speed corners that test both car and driver, while the new Pirelli lap limit adds an extra twist to the strategy. The focus is on ourselves and grabbing all the opportunities that the last sprint weekend of the season will present us with. We are fully motivated to finish the season on a high.
