I liked George when he started. Thought he would light a fire under Ham and get Ham to perform at his best. But lately, he does not seem like a good team player.
1 Like
#HandsOffMclaren!
1 Like
1 Like
The sense of speed is incredible!
2 Likes
The points permutations needed for Max V to secure the Driver’s Championship this weekend in Qatar.
Verstappen’s 13th win of the season (at Suzuka) has left him on 400 points, while Perez holds little more than half of that tally on 223, a whopping 177 points adrift with only 180 up for grabs across the final six rounds of the season – a run that includes three Sprints.
Given that Qatar is one of those Sprint rounds, 34 points are on offer over the course of the weekend, from the eight that go to the winner in the 100-kilometre dash to 25 for victory in the main event and one for setting the fastest lap.
Put simply, Verstappen will be crowned champion in Qatar for a third successive season if he leaves Qatar with a lead of 146 points or more over Perez.
Even if Perez wins the Sprint race, Verstappen will secure the title by finishing sixth or higher. Indeed, Perez needs to finish at least third – with Verstappen also encountering drama – to mathematically remain in contention.
Taking the two extremes of Perez winning the Sprint and Verstappen failing to score, Verstappen would still only need an eighth-place finish in the Grand Prix itself – regardless of Perez’s result – to be crowned champion once again.
TLDR: Max Verstappen will win his third successive Formula 1 World Driver’s Championship this weekend. Seeing as how he’ll probably collect the points he needs in the Sprint Race on Saturday, it’ll be the first WDC title to be won outside of an actual F1 Grand Prix. And we won’t need some random passing thought from Johnny Herbert to confirm it.
2 Likes
2023 Qatar Grand Prix 
Lusail International Circuit | Doha | Qatar | 08 October
2023 F1 Season - Round 18 (Sprint Race 4 of 6 | Grand Prix 17 of 22)
Qatar and the Losail Circuit return to the F1 calendar this weekend. It will be the 17th race of the 2023 Formula One World Championship (officially Round 18) and the second running of the Qatar Grand Prix. The weekend will be the fourth of six in the season to follow the sprint format.
With his team already hoisting the 2023 Formula One Constructor’s Championship, Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen is on the verge of claiming the driver’s title this weekend. It has looked an inevitability since very early in the season, and after repelling the early challenge of team mate Sergio Perez, Max has raced away into the distance in terms of the championship standings, to such an extent that he’s set to wrap matters up with more than five races still remaining.
Perhaps the more interesting battle to watch fgor the rest of the season is for the P2 places on both tables. Lewis Hamilton arrives in Qatar sitting in P3, just 33 points adrift of Sergio Perez. And with 6 races still to run this season, 3 of which (including this one) are Sprint Race weekends, there’s a solid chance that the Brit will be able to do enough to upset Red Bull’s hoped for driver 1 - 2. The bigger battle is however going to be had in the Constructor’s Championship. Hamilton’s Mercedes team is currently second, but with only a 20 point advantage over a semi-resurgent Ferrari team. Again with a lot of points still in play through the rest of the season, the very lucrative P2 Constructor’s prize purse could easily slip from Mercedes’ grasp.
Liam Lawson gets another opportunity to shine a spotlight on his very skillful driving talents as he deputises for Daniel Ricciardo once more. There’s a 2 week gap between Qatar and the US GP on 22 October, so it’ll likely be the last time we’ll see Lawson driving this season. I have a feeling that it definitely won’t be the last time we see him driving in F1 though.
As it’s a Sprint Race Weekend, prime your F1 brain to catch Qualifying on Friday evening, the Sprint Race on Saturday, and the Race on Sunday.
Vital statistics
- First Grand Prix – 2021
- Track Length – 5.419km
- Lap record – N/A
- Most pole positions – Lewis Hamilton (1)
- Most wins – Lewis Hamilton (1)
- Trivia – 2021 represented the first time Qatar had ever hosted an F1 race
- Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 382 metres
- Overtakes completed in 2021 – 87
- Safety Car probability – 0%*
- Virtual Safety Car probability – 100%*
- Pit stop time loss – 24.85 seconds
* From the previous race in Qatar
Last Qatar GP Pole-sitter
- 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Last Qatar GP Winner
- 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
The Schedule
Qatar is just one hour ahead of us on the UTC scale, but, because the desert nation is kak hot, the racing all tends to happen in the evening and at night. So, dial your clocks in to evening F1 watching for this weekend.
The Race Strategy
Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin F1 strategist
Qatar features on the F1 calendar for only the second time, meaning there will be lots still to learn for the drivers and teams, while the Sprint format returns this weekend, bringing its own set of challenges. With the track relatively unused, there will be plenty of improvement as the weekend develops, but a balance needs to be found between the hotter afternoon sessions and cooler dusk outings – when qualifying and the race will take place.
Mirroring Japan last time out, Pirelli have chosen the C1, C2 and C3 compounds from their range, with high tyre demands around the lap leading to high tyre degradation – these two factors promoting a two-stop strategy.
During the 2021 race, it was extremely close between one and two-stop approaches, taking into account the third longest pit loss of the season (almost 25 seconds). Many drivers attempted long stints but tyre wear and degradation forced extra stops.
We saw four drivers encounter tyre issues in 2021, leading to retirements for Valtteri Bottas and Nicholas Latifi. Pirelli put these down to aggressive kerb running, meaning considerations are likely to have been made for 2023, not forgetting the new, stronger tyre construction that was recently introduced.
The Circuit
Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers at the cost of US$58 million, the Lusail International Circuit opened in 2004 and hosted the inaugural 2004 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix.
In 2007, Lusail added permanent outdoor lighting for night races. At the time, the lighting of the Lusail Circuit was the largest permanent venue sports lighting project in the world, a distinction that now belongs to another Gulf motorsport venue, Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The first night race in MotoGP history was the 2008 Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix in March 2008.
The circuit hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2021, the 20th race of that season. Immediately after that event, the circuit underwent major upgrades and renovations to the facilities and had its specator capacity increased from 8,000 to 52,000.
When was the track built?
The Lusail International Circuit, located on the outskirts of the capital city of Doha, was built in preparation for hosting Qatar’s first ever MotoGP event in 2004, with the circuit completed in just over a year.
When was its first Grand Prix?
2021 represented the first time Qatar had ever hosted the FIA Formula One World Championship – with the country signing an additional 10-year deal to host the sport from 2023.
What’s the circuit like?
Designed primarily with motorcycle racing in mind, the 5.4-kilometre Lusail International Circuit is a fast and flowing track, where medium- and high-speed corners predominate. Over one kilometre of the track’s total length is made up of the main straight, which provides plenty of overtaking opportunities into Turn 1.
The Driver’s View
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver
Qatar is full of medium-speed corners and flowing sections. Given that it’s not a huge braking circuit, it’s just about finding the optimum downforce level for the car. There’s one good overtaking opportunity, and that comes down the lengthy start/finish straight.
We saw a few punctures on the last visit to the venue in 2021, as the kerbs can be quite punishing, so drivers will need to be careful there. But conversely, as it’s a night race, that will help the tyres a little bit compared to the afternoon heat.
The Weather
Hot days, warm nights. It’s desert climate in October. It’s insane. The forecast has day time temps hitting 40°C and things still in the 30°+ range at Sprint Race and Grand Prix start times.
The Tyres
Formula 1 now returns to Qatar, two years after its debut there in 2021. But in many ways, it’s another new beginning, as the cars are now very different to the ones, we saw a couple of years ago and the Lusail circuit has been completely resurfaced, with modified kerbs as well. On paper, the track’s main features remain the same – with a main straight just over a kilometre long and 16 corners – but it’s clear that the changes made over the last two years mean that the data collected from the first grand prix is only relatively useful.
In terms of severity, Lusail is a very challenging circuit for tyres, similar to Silverstone and Suzuka. So, it’s no coincidence that the compounds chosen are the same: C1, C2, and C3. There’s quite a variety of corners, most of them medium speed and high speed. The series of corners between Turns 12 and 14 is quite reminiscent of the famous Turn 8 at Istanbul: one of the most demanding corners for tyres in the recent history of Formula 1. This sequence is also one of the most influential factors to a good lap time. The fact that 11 of the 16 corners are right-handers puts particular stress on the left of the car, especially at the front, but the energy levels seen going through the tyres in 2021 were still quite well-balanced between the two axles.
Another factor making the Qatar Grand Prix even more challenging for us as well as the drivers and the teams is the return of the Sprint format. Just one hour of free practice will be available on Friday to determine the set-up and assess tyre behaviour over long runs. Furthermore, that session happens in the heat of the day – which will warm up the asphalt – as opposed to qualifying and the two races, which take place at night. So, everything is in place for an interesting weekend as well as perhaps a few surprises; the ability to adapt quickly and well to the track could deliver a significant advantage.
~Mario Isola - Pirelli Motorsport Director~
- For the Qatar Grand Prix, teams will have C1 as P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as P Zero Red soft. This is the same nomination made for the previous race, in Japan.
- As well as new asphalt, there is also new infrastructure at Losail. The pit garages, originally designed for MotoGP, have been enlarged and increased in number. There’s also a new race control facility and media centre.
- The only Qatar Grand Prix held so far was won by Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver, who started from pole, won ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull (which set fastest lap) and Fernando Alonso, driving for Alpine at the time.
- A wide range of strategies was seen two years ago. Half the drivers started on Softs with the other half on Mediums, while the number of pit stops varied from one to three. Hamilton won with a two-stopper, completing two initial stints on the medium tyre before a final stint on the Hard.
- Doha will be a night race, with qualifying and the grand prix starting at 20:00 (local time). On Saturday, the Sprint Shootout will start at 16:00 and the Sprint race itself at 20:30. There are no support races on the schedule, which means that the track will not be rubbered in from other cars.
- Although some green spaces were specifically built around the circuit, sand often blows onto the surface from the surrounding desert. This makes track evolution another key factor, which will be accentuated by the new asphalt.
- Ambient temperatures are high in Qatar at this time of year, peaking beyond 40°C during the week leading up to the race. But the later time of the sessions compared to 2021 should lead to a wider temperature range than was seen two years ago.
Race on!!
4 Likes
Thanks for the info overload but why is there no lap record set?
Solid question! And probably one I should have answered in the preview post.
Max Verstappen set the fastest lap in the first race in 2021 with a 1:23.196 time. But, as part of the circuit renovations after that race, there’s been a few small changes to the circuit - a little widening in places, a few corners with slight adjustments and reprofiling.
Individually the changes are hardly noticeable, but collectively they have added 39 meters to the overall circuit length. And that’s enough to invalidate Max’s 2021 lap and have this years’ fastest lap count has a new lap record.
3 Likes
Weekend Warm-up show for Qatar:
Driver comments from the Thursday press day:
Sjoe Stroll strikes(literally) again. What a kak bra
1 Like
Sjoe, Merc v Merc, 3 into 1 does not go. Just ask Perez, Ocon and Hulk from the Sprint race.
otherwise, rather meh, especially for Ferrari, ugh.
The driver struggles with the heat though, hectic.
1 Like
If McLaren can keep this up into next year it will be amazing!
1 Like
Kym Illman visits the Las Vegas circuit to check on the progress of the building the pits and the hospitality suites. Them he takes a tour around the circuit as it’s being prepared for the penultimate GP of the year in just a month or so.
So Sprint race at 12am hey? 
Then again, its not long after SA vs England so most of us might still be awake.
1 Like
That’s what I said in my preview post, which I typed yesterday in Notes but never posted because I was waiting to watch the pre-race show on F1TV in case there was any news to include. But then I fell asleep waiting for it 
1 Like
2023 United States Grand Prix 
Circuit of the Americas | Austin | Texas | USA | 22 October
2023 F1 Season - Round 19 (Sprint Race 5 of 6 | Grand Prix 18 of 22)
F1 travels across the seas to the land of the free and the home of the brave for this weekends’ United States Grand Prix. The wonderful Circuit of the Americas plays host again to a race that will see people focusing on the recently crowned champions’ team mate, Sergio Perez. With both the Constructor’s and the Driver’s championships sewn up, all the attention is going to be on whether Checo can hold onto his current slim P2 slot or if one of the others chasing behind him can do enough in the remaining four races to upset the Mexican even more.
There’s still so much to play for up and down the grid. Plenty of eyes are on McLaren with both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris making it onto the podium at the last two races. Let’s also not forget that Piastri, in amongst Verstappen’s title celebrations in Qatar, was the Sprint winner out in Lusail. With Austin also a Sprint weekend, the Australian rookie may sense an opportunity here, as will his team mate. The papaya team are now only 11 points behind Aston Martin and 79 points behind Ferrari in the constructors’ – that P3 is certainly up for grabs.
In the drivers’ rankings, the P2 spot is also hotly contested between Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull, and Perez, were left wondering what might have been after Hamilton’s clash with team mate George Russell sent him out of the Qatar Grand Prix on Lap 1, but Perez notched up 15 seconds’ worth of time penalties in the race as he finished 10th. With the gap just 30 points between Perez in P2 and Hamilton in P3, with fourth-placed Fernando Alonso only 11 points behind the Mercedes man, there’s plenty yet to be decided.
Daniel Riccardio makes his return to the grid this weekend after taking some time to make sure the hand he injured in the Netherlands was properly healed.
Local lads, Haas F1, arrive in Austin with a truckload of upgrades that they’ve been saving with the hope of a decent weekend in front of their home crowd. They’ll also be running a special livery on their cars for the weekend.
Also looking to shine brightly with a special fan-made livery this weekend are the Red Bull Team.
Vital Statistics - US Grand Prix
- First Grand Prix – 1959 (Sebring)
- Track Length – 5.513km
- Lap record – 1m 36.169s, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2019
- Most pole positions – Ayrton Senna (5)
- Most wins – Lewis Hamilton (6)
- Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 250 metres
- Overtakes completed in 2022 – 152
- Safety Car probability – 29%*
- Virtual Safety Car probability – 57%*
- Pit stop time loss – 20 seconds
* From the previous seven races in Austin
Last Five Poles
- 2022 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- 2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Last Five Winners
- 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- 2018 – Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
- 2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Trivia
- Austin set a new F1 record with a three-day attendance of around 440,000 fans in 2022. Sunday’s race final drew over 150,000 spectators to Circuit of the Americas breaking the inaugural Formula One race at the circuit attendance in 2012. This surge was due to the popularity of Formula 1: Drive to Survive in the United States and the honouring of the 2020 tickets as the 2020 United States Grand Prix was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Schedule
It’s another F1 Sprint Race Weekend, but this time it’s during daylight hours in Ahh-merry-car!! so we’re looking at some late night viewing here. Should work out okay though as the really late stuff - Qualifying on Friday at 23:00, and the Sprint Race on Saturday at midnight - are both timed to start after the RWC Semi Final matches on those two days end. Luckily, Sunday’s Grand Prix start time is a little more reasonable for us and the Europeans - go time is 21:00.
Fortify yourself with a good pot of coffee and whatever your beverage of choice to celebrate the Boks winning or to mourn the Boks losing, and then enjoy the motor racing.
The Race Strategy
Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin F1 strategist
Austin plays host to the penultimate Sprint event of the 2023 season this weekend, but it’s the first time the format has been run at the Circuit of The Americas – adding another element of intrigue.
Balancing car set-up across every part of the track is the main challenge: Sector 1 is mainly high-speed corners, demanding high downforce; Sector 2 is essentially a long straight, demanding low drag and therefore low downforce; while Sector 3 is predominantly made up of low-speed corners.
Given the nature of the layout, overtaking is relatively easy for the drivers, with a high number of overtakes expected in the Grand Prix, where two-stop strategies have been favoured in recent years due to high tyre demands resulting in high degradation.
Another factor that teams and drivers need to stay on top of is the potential for very variable ambient and track conditions across the weekend. Those conditions, however, seem consistent over this upcoming weekend, with the ambient and track temperatures looking to be on the hotter side compared to normal. The wind also appears changeable, so that will bring changes in set up requirements particularly for the high speed Sector 1.
The bumpy nature of the track can also cause a headache, while the dramatic track elevation change into Turn 1 makes for a blind corner entry, which is particularly challenging on the opening lap of the race.
The Circuit
The circuit and Grand Prix were first proposed in the middle of 2010. The circuit was the first in the United States to be purpose-built for Formula One. The layout was conceived by promoter Tavo Hellmund and 1993 Motorcycle World Champion Kevin Schwantz with the assistance of German architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke.
The final plan of the circuit was released on September 1, 2010, showing a design inspired by the European tradition of sculpting the circuit to the contours of the land. The design draws from several European Formula One circuits, including a recreation of Silverstone’s Maggotts–Becketts–Chapel sequence, Hockenheim’s arena bends, and a replica of Istanbul’s Turn Eight. Other corners were loosely inspired by the Senna ‘S’ at Interlagos, Turn 4 at the Buddh International Circuit and Turns 9-10 at Bahrain, the latter two tracks also designed by Tilke. A feature of the circuit is a deliberate widening of corners, to encourage drivers to follow multiple racing lines. A similar feature was used at the Buddh International Circuit in India, where the circuit widens on the approach to certain corners.
The circuit was one of only a handful on the Formula One 2012 calendar to be run counter-clockwise, the others being Marina Bay, the Korea International Circuit, Yas Marina, and Interlagos. Because of this, the circuit contains more left-hand turns than right-hand ones, placing greater physical demands on the drivers whose bodies, particularly their necks, are more adapted to the lateral g-forces of clockwise circuits.
When was the track built?
- The Circuit of The Americas, designed by Hermann Tilke in collaboration with American architectural firm HKS, endured something of a nervy start, with construction suffering several setbacks. It was well worth the wait, though, when 1978 F1 champion Mario andretti opened the track on October 21 2012.
When was its first Grand Prix?
- F1 first raced at the Circuit of The Americas in 2012, for the first United States Grand Prix since the 2007 race at Indianapolis. Unsurprisingly, over 100,000 spectators packed out the Austin venue, witnessing Lewis Hamilton’s last ever win in a McLaren before his switch to Mercedes for 2013.
What’s the circuit like?
- If the corners at COTA seem familiar, they should be. Turns 3 through 6 look not dissimilar to Silverstone’s high-speed run through Maggotts/Becketts or the S Curves at Suzuka, while Turns 12 through 15 mimic Hockenheim’s stadium section. Meanwhile, the uphill run into wide, wide Turn 1 – hey, everything’s bigger in Texas, right? – has provided some fine overtaking action in the track’s short life.
The Driver’s View
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver
The Circuit of The Americas is a great new track that takes inspiration from parts of other legendary corners on the calendar.
The uphill Turn 1 is difficult at the race start as there’s loads of different lines that can be taken, then you sweep through the first sector, which is a bit like Silverstone, where you’re trying to find your rhythm. After that, it’s the long back straight and you’ve got to get your braking point right at the end of it…
Probably the hardest section on the circuit is Turn 13 through to Turn 15, which feels like an odd complex of corners behind the wheel. Turn 13 is conventional, but finding your line through to 15 is not easy, while that Turn 14 area puts a lot of load on the tyres.
You go through the quadruple right-hander after that, followed by Turn 19, which is a really nice corner – though track limits are an issue. Finally, you stop for Turn 20, then it’s a short burst to the line, but drivers need to be careful not to light things up as it’s easy to break traction.
There are also plenty of overtaking opportunities during the race with DRS on the run to Turn 12 and Turn 1.
The Weather
The weekend weather forecast for the Austin area looks like it’s going to be hot, hot, hot. AccuWeather suggesting that Saturday’s forecast high of 35°C may even break the record high for 21 October, set in 1953.
Friday - FP1 and Qualifying
Extremely hot day with temperatures largely above normal and approaching record highs.
FP1: 32°C | Q: 35°C
Max: 35°C | Min: 18°C
Chance of rain: 0%
Saturday – Sprint Shootout and Sprint Race
A sunny day with a very hot feeling, with no wind anticipated throughout the day.
SS: 32°C | SR: 34°C
Max: 34°C | Min: 18°C
Chance of rain: 0%
Sunday – Grand Prix
Still fair and hot weather throughout the day but with southerly winds expected to gradually increase in the afternoon.
GP: 32°C
Max: 33°C | Min: 18°C
Chance of rain: 0%
The Tyres
Austin kicks off a series of four races – three of them run consecutively – on the American continent. And it all begins with the United States Grand Prix: a land that is steeped in motorsport tradition but has truly made its F1 presence felt only in the last few years, thanks to all the different initiatives implemented by Liberty Media in a number of different areas.
The Circuit of the Americas has hosted the United States Grand Prix every year since 2012, with the exception of 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I would describe COTA as a complete track, with medium to high levels of downforce. Turn 1, a left-hander, is particularly distinctive at the end of a 22-metre climb, covered within just 200 metres of track distance. It makes the start particularly interesting, with drivers heading in a number of different directions to find the best line. That corner leads into a flowing first sector, characterised by a series of medium to fast corners all the way to the hairpin that is Turn 11. That’s then followed by a long straight leading into the final part of the track, which is instead typified by a series of slower and 90-degree corners.
The Sprint format comes to Austin for the first time this year; another opportunity for a fanbase that is becoming more and more enthusiastic about modern F1 to soak up some spectacular action.
~Mario Isola - Pirelli Motorsport Director~
- The drivers will have the C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 as P Zero Yellow medium and C4 as P Zero Red soft at the Circuit of the Americas.
- The Medium and the Hard were used during last year’s race. Race winner Max Verstappen did his first and his final stint on the Mediums, with the middle stint run on the Hard. There were two neutralisations with safety cars.
- Austin will host a ‘Sprint’ weekend for the first time in its history this year. This means that on Friday there will just be one hour of free practice and then qualifying. On Saturday there will be the F1 Sprint itself (preceded by the Shootout to set the Sprint grid) while on Sunday the Grand Prix takes place as usual.
- This weekend’s race will be the 75th Grand Prix to take place in the United States. A total of 11 different venues have hosted world championship races, with Watkins Glen staging the most Grands Prix – 20 in total – followed by Indianapolis on 19.
- Austin has hosted the race on 10 occasions previously: five of them have been won by Lewis Hamilton, most recently in 2017. Ten years previously, at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, Lewis won his very first F1 race: held at the time in Indianapolis.
- Some corners on the Herman Tilke-designed Circuit of the Americas are inspired by famous turns at other renowned tracks. Turns 3 to 6 are reminiscent of the Maggotts-Becketts complex at Silverstone, turns 12 to 15 are inspired by a section of the Hockenheimring, while turns 16 to 18 take after the celebrated turn 8 at Istanbul Park.
- The F1 Academy will make an appearance alongside Formula 1 for the first time at Austin, to mark its final race of the season. The Pirelli-equipped series for young female drivers will host three races at the Texan track and crown its inaugural champion. Prema Racing’s Marta Garcia currently leads the championship with 235 points, followed by ART Grand Prix driver Lena Buhler on 187 points and MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi on 179 points.
The Programme
Say “Oh Yeah!” The digital race programme makes a welcome return for this weekend.
Find it at F1 Race Programme. Remember, the Digital Race programme is designed specifically for viewing on mobile devices. It can be viewed on a desktop, just not as effectively or with the same level of interactivity.
Y’all come on down and get your fill of F1 Texas style now, ya here?! Yeehaw!
2 Likes