One title still up for grabs
While George Russell might have taken the win in Las Vegas last time around, it was the new quadruple champion, Max Verstappen, stealing the spotlight as the Red Bull driver picked up his fourth consecutive World Title to close out another strong season for the Dutchman, even though he might not have had the most dominant car for the majority of the season.
With two races to go, the Constructors’ battle is still on and here’s our race preview and prediction for the Qatar Grand Prix 2024.
Ferrari picking up steam at the end –
While the Drivers’ Title might have been wrapped up by Max Verstappen, there still is one more title to fight for as McLaren and Ferrari are the two leading contenders for the Constructors’ title.
With two races to go, McLaren tops the Constructors’ standings with 608 points with Ferrari in second place with 584. Given the tight battle at the top of the table in the Constructors’ fight, McLaren have dropped the ball in the last couple of races as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have not been on the podium in the last two races, which has seen Ferrari close the gap. The Ferrari has been looking like a race winning contender in the last few races and the Italian team outscored McLaren last weekend in Las Vegas which has given the Scuderia the momentum they need to pip the British team for the title.
With both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in top form, count on the Italian team to once again haul a big bag of points, if not win the race!
Pole position prediction: Lando Norris / Charles Leclerc
Race winners prediction: Ferrari / McLaren
Swan Song –
All the reports, rumours and roads point to only one thing – that Red Bull will most likely axe Sergio Pérez at the end of the season to bring in a youngster to partner Max Verstappen. Pérez is contracted with the team for another season, until the end of the 2026 season but reports suggest that the Mexican is on his way out. Pérez did help Red Bull achieve their first ever 1-2 in the Drivers’ Standing last season but the Mexican has been anything but helpful to the team this season.
Pérez lies eighth in the Drivers’ table, and his poor Saturdays in general have hampered his Sunday’s performances. He is yet to win a race this season and has a total of 4 podiums only, the last of which came in China, which was the fifth race of the season! Pérez underperforming has meant that Red Bull will not be able to defend their Constructors’ title as they sit 53 points behind McLaren and will need a miracle in the final two races to keep a hold of the title. While the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and of late, Mercedes have been stepping up their game, especially having both drivers perform well, the Mexican has had a horrid run off late, having a best place finish of 7th in the last seven races (he’s managed to score only 9 points from the last 5 races, heading into Qatar).
There was some ray of hope though, as Pérez himself stated that he and his side of the garage has finally been able to understand what’s going wrong and are ‘close to turning things around’. The Mexican has always been a driver who has thrived under pressure and should these two final races be all that he has to save his Formula One career, as there are no other seats available on the grid for him, count on Sergio Pérez to have a good weekend.
Dark Horse: Sergio Pérez
Three-way down to the wire
The battle for the sixth place in the Constructors’ standing has gotten even closer and only 4 points separate the three teams in sixth, seventh and eighth position. American team Haas are in sixth place with 50 points, while Alpine is a point behind in seventh and VCARB are in eighth place with 46 points. With two races to go, and a Sprint event in Qatar, it’s all to play for as every point matters.
Haas and VCARB scored points in Las Vegas while Alpine, after their double podium in Brazil, finished P17 and had to retire the car. Alpine’s double podium had put them in pole position to run away with the sixth position in the final three races but the French team had a poor Sunday as Pierre Gasly had to retire the car. The Frenchman had put in a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday to qualify on the second row at P3 and the French team’s pace impressed all on the grid and took quite a few by surprise.
VCARB and Haas have been showing strong race pace in the last couple of races as well and count on another title midfield battle amongst these three with Qatar being crucial for the sixth place, given the extra points on offer due to the Sprint event.
Qatar Grand Prix 2024: Race Details
Circuit: Lusail International Circuit
Venue: Lusail, Al Daayen, Qatar
Practice Session 1 time: 19:00, November 29
Sprint Qualifying time: 23:30, November 29
Sprint time: 19:30, November 30
Qualifying time: 23:30, November 30
Main race time: 21:30, December 1
Where to watch: F1 TV Pro / FanCode
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