Qatar GP: F1 returns to Losail International Circuit for Sprint Weekend as Max Verstappen eyes third world title
The second Qatar Grand Prix is here after the event was not held last year due to the 2022 football World Cup; watch all sessions from the Qatar GP on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying on Friday and the Sprint Race on Saturday when Max Verstappen could become champion
Wednesday 4 October 2023 09:54, UK
The Qatar Grand Prix is back for 2023 and is set to be the stage on which Max Verstappen becomes a three-time world champion.
Verstappen bounced back from a torrid weekend in Singapore with arguably his most dominant performance of 2023 so far as he topped every session and took a sensational pole lap which Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok labelled as "one of the great qualifying laps in F1 history".
The Dutchman, who needs to finish sixth or higher to secure the title this Saturday in the Sprint Race, held off the McLaren challenge at the start of the race and romped his way to victory No 13 of the year.
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- When to watch the Qatar GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend
- How Max Verstappen can be champion on the SATURDAY in Qatar
There's not many reasons to think Verstappen won't seal the title this Saturday - not Sunday, as it's a Sprint Weekend. However, the Losail International Circuit is very challenging for what looks like a conventional race track.
What happened at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix?
The 2021 Qatar Grand Prix was the third to last race in a controversial and dramatic season notable for the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen.
More controversy took place in Qatar during qualifying, when Verstappen was awarded a five-grid place penalty as he didn't slow down for double-waved yellow flags.
Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 "a rogue marshal" stuck the flag out and was given an official warning by the FIA for his comments. Horner apologised and offered to participate in an FIA International Stewards Programme.
It meant Verstappen started from seventh, while Hamilton was on pole, so we were denied a potential head-to-head battle down to Turn 1.
Fernando Alonso brilliantly overtook Pierre Gasly for second place at Turn 2 on the opening lap, as Verstappen got up to fourth.
The Red Bull driver was up to second after five laps and it was a relatively quiet race from there. But, Valtteri Bottas suffered a puncture from third, while Lando Norris, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi also had punctures.
As other drivers nursed their tyres, Alonso benefitted and took his first podium since 2014 as Hamilton took the win from Verstappen.
Tyres set to be punished again
The high-speed corners around the Losail International Circuit, some of which have a long radius which means the drivers are turning for a long time, were one reason for the front-left punctures in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix.
Pirelli also suspect the abrasive kerbs were another reason, and the hot track temperatures - despite the race being held during the night - did not help either.
"Based on the findings obtained so far, the origin of the problem is mainly due to the amount of time these tyres were run on the kerbs, at high speed and with considerable lateral and vertical loads: a situation unique to the Losail circuit," a Pirelli statement read at the time.
"The heavy demand caused by running over these kerbs, which isn't possible to measure from the data available before the race, damaged the tyre construction and led to a loss of pressure in the internal sidewall, which consequently caused the structure to collapse after several seconds."
F1 has just visited Suzuka, another circuit which punishes the tyres, so the teams will be well prepared ahead of Qatar. The Losail track has similar characteristics to Suzuka, except for the lack of elevation. It has also been resurfaced, so it will be vital for the teams to get on top of the new track surface.
Red Bull struggled with finding the optimal tyre working range in Singapore and Qatar is a Sprint Weekend, so there is just one practice session to discover the right setup before going straight into qualifying on Friday.
McLaren to be Red Bull's closest challengers?
McLaren took their first double podium for two years at Suzuka as Norris finished second and Oscar Piastri was third for the first time in his F1 career.
For the second time this year, McLaren's upgrades have given them a big step in performance and the high-speed Losail corners should suit their car again.
"I think we are at a point where it's clear we have mad some big steps and solid steps forward. I don't think there are going to be any bad races like we had at the beginning of the season," Norris told Sky Sports News.
"We have proven now we can fight against Ferrari, Mercedes and, at times, Red Bull - at least one of the cars. That's where we are and we want to win.
"There's no point thinking and manifesting 'we are not going to have a great weekend now, we are not going to be in the same position'. I think we will have chances to fight, maybe not always for the podium, but top fives, top sixes and get points. When we fight for a podium it's a lot more enjoyable and that's going to be my goal from now on."
Ferrari and Mercedes are set for a big battle to secure second place in the constructors' championship in the final six events, with Toto Wolff's team 20 points ahead of the red cars.
It looks like Ferrari have solved their tyre wear troubles and they have generally been quicker out of the blocks compared to Mercedes in recent events, so could have the upper hand this weekend.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says the simulator work in the build-up to a Sprint event is more important than normal for everyone.
"You are limited in what you can do on the approach, because you've got one hour to do the work of three hours, even in a three-hour free practice, where we are on the track for the vast majority of it," said Shovlin.
"We will have the drivers in the simulator, we'll be preparing there. As a circuit, it's probably a bit easier than some of the others. Baku was a particularly difficult one to have a Sprint Race at. If you look at tracks like Austria, we've not been great at Austria for a few years.
"So, again, that wouldn't be our first choice of a track to have a Sprint at. But we'll do the normal preparation, get them in the sim. We've learned quite a bit about the car since the last one. Hopefully, we can land with a better setup and go from there."
When to watch the Qatar GP live only on Sky Sports F1
Thursday October 5
- 4pm: Drivers' Press Conference
Friday October 6
- 2pm: Qatar GP Practice One (Session starts 2.30pm)
- 5pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up
- 6pm: Qatar GP Qualifying
- 8pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Saturday October 7
- 1.30pm: Sprint Shootout build-up
- 2pm: Sprint Shootout
- 5.30pm: Sprint build-up
- 6.30pm: SPRINT
- 8pm: Ted's Sprint Notebook
Sunday October 8
- 4.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
- 6pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
- 8pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
- 9pm: Ted's Notebook
Will Max Verstappen wrap up his third world championship at the first attempt at the Qatar GP? Watch every session of the Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from October 6-8. Stream F1 and more with NOW for £21 a month for six months
