2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix Highlights

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Introduction

Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a vastly eventful 2024 Components 1 Qatar Grand Prix, a race that featured three Security Automotive appearances, quite a few incidents and a penalty for Lando Norris that dropped the Briton down the order after earlier battling for the lead.

For followers eagerly following the season’s twists and turns, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the ultimate showdown. This closing race guarantees much more pleasure as groups and drivers intention to finish the season on a excessive word. Need to relive the highlights of the yr? Try the whole checklist of winners for every race on the Components 1 calendar.

Having misplaced pole place following a one-place penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen in combating mode from the off, the Dutchman successful a battle for the lead in opposition to George Russell and Norris into Flip 1.

Nevertheless, it was not essentially an easy drive from there, with the Security Automotive showing on the primary lap after Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon have been each casualties in an incident with Nico Hulkenberg.

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This proved to be the primary of three Security Automotive outings through the 57-lap encounter – and whereas the second restart noticed Norris run near Verstappen in a combat for the lead, the world champion finally held on and remained within the place by means of to the chequered flag.

Norris, in the meantime, noticed what a sure podium consequence slip away after being handed a 10-second cease/go penalty for failing to sluggish beneath yellow flags, dropping him down the sphere and leaving him with a battle on his palms to assert factors.

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Charles Leclerc took second place, the Ferrari driver crossing the road six seconds again from Verstappen, whereas McLaren’s Oscar Piastri accomplished the rostrum in third. Russell was Mercedes’ sole points-scorer in fourth, forward of Pierre Gasly, who held off Carlos Sainz to take a stable fifth for Alpine.

Sainz needed to accept sixth within the Ferrari – recovering nicely from an earlier puncture – with fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso taking house factors for Aston Martin in seventh. Zhou Guanyu, in the meantime, scored Kick Sauber’s long-awaited debut factors of the season by claiming a preferred eighth place, additionally incomes him the Driver of the Day accolade.

Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas, whereas Norris’s restoration drive following that aforementioned penalty noticed him declare the ultimate level in tenth. Valtteri Bottas simply missed out on including to Kick Sauber’s celebrations within the eleventh, with former teammate Lewis Hamilton chopping a dejected determine within the twelfth after receiving two penalties through the occasion.

The RB pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have been P13 and P14, respectively, with Alex Albon the final categorised runner in P15 for Williams. Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg was one among 5 retirees, the Haas spinning out and changing into beached within the gravel, whereas Sergio Perez additionally discovered himself out of the working after struggling a spin of his personal within the Crimson Bull.

Lance Stroll recorded a DNF early on, having sustained injury to his Aston Martin following contact with Albon on the opening lap. Colapinto and Ocon additionally noticed their races finish earlier than they’d begun following that first nook incident with Hulkenberg.

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

As anticipated, this was a busy weekend for us. In at the moment’s race, two entrance left tyre punctures have been in Sainz’s and Hamilton’s automobiles. As per process, we’ll now analyse the broken tyres intimately and choose different tyres. The telemetry knowledge we’ve acquired and onboard footage from the automobiles can be despatched to our laboratory in Milan. As well as, we’ll perform all the same old checks on the stresses to which the tyres have been subjected.

This monitor has some quite peculiar traits: it is extremely extreme by way of the power exerted on the tyres and by way of tread put on whereas not resulting in a drop in efficiency. Clearly, this mix of things can create a scenario by which put on ranges attain their restrict whereas the groups attempt to lengthen the stint as a lot as potential to get the absolute best consequence, and we noticed that confirmed at the moment.

In yesterday’s Dash, in some instances, the extent of wear and tear had reached 100% on automobiles that had began with about one-third the gas load they took on board for at the moment’s begin. At this monitor, the left entrance is the tyre subjected to the best load, and it’s no coincidence that each punctures have been on this tyre. Whenever you attain a sure stage, even the smallest piece of particles may cause a scenario we witnessed at the moment.

As for the remainder, the efficiency ranges of essentially the most used compounds – the C1 and the C2 – have been very related and, as talked about earlier, with hardly any degradation. Due to this fact, the extent of tyre administration required was virtually zero, with the drivers capable of push as a lot as they favored, although they have been, in reality, working a one-stop technique.

The day on the monitor:

All of the drivers opted to begin on the Medium tyre, excluding Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), who went for the Laborious. As anticipated, the one-stop was the popular selection for all groups. Aside from these drivers concerned in collisions on the opening lap, who needed to pit instantly, everybody tried to increase the primary stint on the Mediums as a lot as potential, attending to over half-distance. There have been a couple of exceptions: George Russell (Mercedes) pitted after 23 laps, Valtteri Bottas switched to the Laborious on the next lap and Kevin Magnussen (Haas), pitting after 27 laps. For the remainder of the sphere, the run of pit stops started on lap 34, with some coming in when the race was neutralised to change to the arduous tyre. Hulkenberg had already pitted to tackle Mediums after lap 30.

The Security Automotive made three appearances. On the final two, the possibility to pit costing much less time induced Williams and Racing Bulls to gamble on the Mushy, nevertheless it didn’t repay, because the traits of this monitor meant the C3 proved to have an excessive amount of of a drop in efficiency.