‘25 Qatar GP
About the Grand Prix: Added to the F1 calendar in 2021, Qatar is the fourth-youngest GP on the calendar, behind Jeddah, Miami, and Vegas. Qatar GP is also among the six night races (Bahrain, Jeddah, Singapore, Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi). The Qatar GP is contracted until 2033.
About the Circuit:
The Lusail International Circuit is a 16-turn track spanning 5.419 km (3.367 mi). Located just outside of Lusail, Qatar. Originally built as a motorcycle racing circuit in 2004, the circuit installed lighting systems in 2007 and began hosting night races. The circuit's facilities were recently updated to host crowds of over 50,000 fans on race day.
Weekend Highlights:
(Listed by Constructors standings)
MCLAREN. A double disqualification from Papaya boys, excessive plank wear on both cars, double whammy. It's not panic time for Lando just yet; his fate is in his own hands, but for Oscar, he needs near perfection for the title to work out in his favor. The sprint weekend will bring immense pressure on Saturday. The sprint in Qatar is the most season-altering sprint race of the season; it can shift everything.
It's painful to watch Oscar in the second half of this season. I was heavy on the Oscar wagon; I loved his calm, real approach to F1, but it hasn't been the same Oscar who dominated the middle of the season. It may be too late for Oscar, but the sprint sets the tone all weekend, and Oscar needs a sprint win just like last season.
Mercedes. Back-to-back stellar weekends for the Silver Arrows. After the McLaren DQs, it bumped Kimi into the Vegas podium, which is an incredible finish for the rookie's third podium of the season; it would have been great for the Mercedes team to get to celebrate during the actual podium was happening, and not hours later, But it's a much-needed points haul that has given a little cushion over Red Bull in third.
Red Bull. A gift from the F1 gods, a double McLaren DQ. Even with Verstappen's outright win, which would have been a slight bump in the points, it turned into a massive jump for Max after the DQs. It's still a stretch for Max to win the title, but Vegas was as good as it could be for Verstappen. Qatar will carry tremendous weight for Verstappen's title chances. A sprint weekend, Max will need to get every single point this weekend, complete domination.
Ferrari. Qualifying was not kind to the Ferrari team. A rainy session in Vegas produced multiple yellow-flag situations, leaving Hamilton without a suitable time when Q1 ended. Hamilton qualified 19th. Charles had a slightly better qualifying, but not the results the team was hoping for, starting ninth. Both cars had race pace, and both drivers improved from their qualifying positions. Lewis would finish in eighth, considering his grid spot, this was not a bad finish. Charles would finish fourth, right on the heels of Antonelli, who took the last podium spot. Second place in the constructors' standings is out of reach for Ferrari, but third is possible, with a 13-point gap to Red Bull. Ferrari will need a spectacular weekend in Qatar to outpace Verstappen, not entirely out of the question, but the team will have to show something they have not had in quite a few races.
Williams. A top-5 finish for Carlos and a disastrous weekend for Alex. The team had pace all weekend, but a qualifying-ending crash took Alex out in Q1, severely impacting his grid position. On the other side, it was looking for a second that Carlos Sainz was going to set pole in the Williams, just being edged out by Lando and Max. Albon showed a strong race pace, potentially in the points, but a slight misjudgment while battling Lewis Hamilton for 12th caused front-wing damage. Albon also drove the race without radio communication with the team and eventually retired early without any points. Sainz drove a clean and competitive race, starting third and finishing fifth, with only a 4-second gap to 3rd and 4th place, showing that Williams had the race pace to see another podium. With only two races and a sprint left in the season, Williams has a 30+ point lead over VCARB. This most likely holds up without some absolute banger weekend for vcarb. Fifth would be the best constructors' finish since the 2017 season, when Williams finished fifth.
VCARB. VCARB is showing out every weekend. The team looks very fast, with a double Q3 appearance and strong pace all weekend. Isack would walk away with a solid sixth-place finish, while Liam would be caught up in a first-lap incident, which hindered his race. It's a big ask to catch Williams for fifth, but not entirely out of the question if VCARB makes magic happen.
Haas. Excellent weekend for Haas with a double points finish, Ollie continuing his recent streak, and Ocon benefiting from the double DQ. The bigger picture is that the team got the much-needed points, and the battle with Aston Martin is coming down to the wire.
Aston Martin. A bit of a disappointment, Aston Martin left Vegas with no points. Alonso appeared to have the pace to score points, and Stroll was not far behind, but the race would prove otherwise. Lance's race didn't last a lap after being hit by Bortoleto, an unfortunate circumstance for Stroll. Alonso drove a clean race but was unable to bring home points, finishing in eleventh place. Still in a close battle with Haas, there's only a one-point gap to seventh place. Aston Martin needs a strong weekend to jump Haas in the standings.
Stake-sauber. Stake walks away with more points. Nico did it again, scoring his eighth points finish of the season. Gabi started the grand prix with a bit of out-of-character misjudgment into turn 1, causing a collision that would eventually take him out of the race, resulting in a 5-place grid penalty in the following Qatar race as well. Four behind Aston Martin, five behind Haas; it's in Stake's hand, they need a big one before the season ends.
Alpine. Unable to repeat the points in Brazil, Alpine left Vegas pointless. Not too much to take away from the weekend; Pierre did make Q3 but failed to convert that into points. Expect Gasly to be on the cusp of points again. Franco needs a strong weekend; with a contract secured for next season, leaving this season on a streak of success would be a great way to close out a less-than-stellar season. Sidenote: Gasly had a banger weekend in Qatar last year, finishing fifth.
