After the last event which decreed the victory of Constructors' Championship by Red Bull, we fly to losail for another racing weekend with the Qatar GP.
The characteristics of the new (or almost new) track in Qatar
The Lusail International Circuit in Qatar is a track with particular characteristics. We are talking about a permanent route built in the city of the same name, about 20 km from Doha . Long 5419 meters, Presents 19 curves ed only one DRS zone, located on the main straight. It's a long stretch from the last round to the first 1068 meters.
The route was built in just under a year from about 1000 workers, for a cost of 58 million dollars. To reduce the influx of sand onto the track it was decided to insert artificial grass. F1 had never raced there until 2021 when, after the cancellation of Australian GP cause Covid-19, became part of the calendar. From the 2023, has signed a contract to be present on a permanent basis between the seasonal events.
The absolute track record belongs to Lewis Hamilton, who stopped the clock in qualifying 1'20 "827. The official track record is instead Max Verstappen, who during the race set a time of 1'23 "196.
Wear is essential and watch out for curbs
Many travel curves, where the tires tend to slip a lot. Then bends that face each other in third gear and curves to take with the gas wide open. This is the Lusail route. Therefore, to have a stable car you will have to use wings high load. A slightly understeering and well balanced front will be fundamental, especially in curves like the 16, the last of the round. Here it is very important to get out in the best possible way to bring as much speed as possible to the pitch straight.
Another fundamental aspect for the success of this race will be tire wear. The shape of the circuit, the sand that comes from the Arabian desert and the curbs will fatal for tires. It is therefore necessary to keep the overheating, both of the tires but also of the brakes. Running in the evening will help cool the system a bit, given the temperatures down in the evening hours. We remember how in 2021 tire wear combined with the design of the track curbs cost the podium to Valtteri Bottas, then forced to training camp.
Verstappen for the third crown, Mercedes for the redemption over its opponents
The race at Suzuka confirmed that Singapore was a sporadic case. Red Bull, but more precisely Max Verstappen, he is fitter than ever. The Dutch lion wants to grab the third title already on Saturday. It's him of course the number one favorite for winning the grand prix. There Classic Ferrari for sale, however, could run into difficulty. Track that attracts a lot Zandvoort, track where the Red one showed its worst side. It will be important to understand whether the updates brought after the summer break have succeeded fill this gap. Whoever has an important chance to do well is there Classic Mercedes for sale, which together with McLaren and the Maranello team is playing the second place in the Constructors' category.
Article by Francesco Orlando
