Formula One is back under the floodlights and returning to Lusail International Circuit in Qatar’s desert.
Located north of Doha, Qatar, the high-speed, 16-turn layout remains unchanged from when the series made its 2021 debut at Lusail, aside from resurfacing and tweaking the curbs ahead of the 2023 grand prix. New grandstands were added at Turn 2, Turn 3 and Turn 16, increasing capacity from 8,000 to 40,000, and the pit and paddock were revamped.
The 2023 grand prix, though, brought change to the sport. Held in October, the drivers endured extreme heat, pushing them to their physical limits. As a result, the race got moved to a month later and is now the second race of the season’s final tripleheader. According to Pirelli, ambient temperatures will be around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).
And many may recall that a tire limit was mandated last year. Because of safety concerns, the maximum number of laps that could be completed on one set of tires was 18 laps, forcing a three-stop race. Changes have since been made.
The Lusail International Circuit was created to host the country’s first MotoGP event in the early 2000s, and it was built in just over a year. It’s a fast and twisty track with many medium- and high-speed corners, and over one kilometer (.62 miles) of the circuit’s length is the main straight.
Before the cars hit the track for the weekend’s single practice session, here’s what you need to know about Qatar’s Lusail International Circuit.
A track with plenty of character
Many circuits have iconic aspects that stand out among the rest.
Silverstone has Maggotts and Becketts, and Monaco is home to Casino Square, the Fairmont Hairpin and a tunnel. Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps features Eau Rouge, while Canada’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve boasts the Wall of Champions. And some fans may remember the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul and its memorable Turn 8.
Qatar’s circuit isn’t quite comparable to the F1 greats, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly said in 2023, but it does have “quite a lot of character.” The Alpine driver pointed out the high-speed portion starting at Turns 14 and 15.
“Because 14, it was almost flat out. It’s just on the edge of being flat out, so it’s really a corner where you are really maximizing the load of the car and the G’s you’re feeling there. So it’s a nice challenge, especially coming into qualifying,” Gasly said. “And then the one that follows, the left corner is same, it’s a very high-speed one. So, coming after that triple-right, it is probably my favorite section of the track. And the rest is very twisty, medium speed, very flowing, where you can carry a lot of speed, be quite smooth with your lines.”
But the challenges extend beyond the track’s nature to nature itself.
“I think here the challenges are more on the weather. For example, the wind can be quite a big thing around here, the sun changing session to session, or during the session,” Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez said in 2023. “You have a very different balance throughout. So I think that makes it very challenging to pick the right spot on the car.”
The single practice session and sprint qualifying will happen in the late afternoon, while GP qualifying, the sprint race and the grand prix will take place in the evening under the floodlights. This means fluctuations in temperature, plenty of tailwind in some corners and plenty of sand that may blow onto the track, which reduces grip.
RB driver Yuki Tsunoda did not mince his words in 2023 when talking about the Lusail International Circuit, labeling it a “floor destroyer track.”
The curbs were a bit of a talking point in 2021 when numerous drivers endured punctures caused by abusing them. They have since been revised, and F1 has a different generation of cars now — but the solution may make things worse.
“It seems like they changed to the aggressive curbs,” Tsunoda said in 2023. “Here is always a story with track limits, but they made even worse the curbs because when you go over the white line, you are going to have a proper penalty — which seems like it’s going to be a high risk to damage the car.”
Tsunoda said last year that the concern isn’t about driving on the curb but rather, “once you step out from the curb, it’s going to be like a complete sliding effect.” He added, “Especially driving here, with such high-speed corners where the car is really low, even one time will be pretty costly, I think.”
It’s not just Tsunoda who was concerned; so are the RB engineers. As for other teams, Gasly also described the curbs as “quite aggressive” but said, “It’s not really something we (are) too worried about.”
Curbs did prove tricky in 2023. Pirelli said in this year’s preview, “Following the usual analysis of the tires returned to them by the teams after the first and second day of track activity, they pointed out the possibility of micro-lacerations in the sidewalls between the tread compound and the carcass cords, caused by impact generated from repeatedly driving over the curbs at some corners.”
Changes have been made. The tips of pyramid-shaped curbs have been rounded at seven turns. Testing was conducted, and Pirelli analyzed the data (although it was collected by pre-2024 tires). Additionally, gravel strips will be placed as natural deterrents on the outside of some curbs.
A physically-demanding race
Nailing the curbs and finding a rhythm is key when tackling Lusail International Circuit. There are plenty of high-speed sections but only a few big braking spots (if any). The drivers drop below fourth gear only once, according to Haas, and one of the biggest challenges, turn-wise, are Turns 12-14.
The ambient temperatures and humidity were a major concern after the 2023 race. Esteban Ocon said he threw up in his helmet during the grand prix, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll staggered out of his car, Williams’ Logan Sargeant retired mid-race as he felt unwell, and teammate Alex Albon needed help getting out of the cockpit. Some drivers needed to lift their visors during the race to help with airflow. Coupled with the G-forces and the track layout, it was a physically demanding race.
“Qatar is probably the most physical circuit of the year now. It was relatively low tire degradation, so you could push flat out for a long duration. It’s the high-speed corners that are most demanding,” Mercedes driver George Russell said in Monza. “In a high-speed corner, you’ve got 5Gs on the body naturally. In Qatar, you’ve got the first corner that’s really long in duration. You’ve got the triple right out the back, the left as well. After that, there’s the penultimate corner, and you’ve got the 4 to 5G. Your body is just totally under this strain.
“I was talking about it recently. It was my first F1 race in Melbourne. My body wasn’t used to the G-force. I had so much pain in my stomach. Your stomach and your internals are just being thrown around constantly. In Qatar, when it’s so quick, high downforce, no tire there, extreme heat, it’s a pretty tough one.”
The bigger picture
The Qatar Grand Prix is complicated because this is one of the more controversial host countries.
Along with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is routinely accused of sportswashing, a term (to put it very simply) that means using an athletic event to help one’s reputation amid controversy due to their respective human rights records. Qatar faced such criticism during the 2022 World Cup and has a 10-year deal to host F1 that begins this season.
“First and foremost, as drivers, we put our trust in Formula One to help with these decisions. It’s important that we see change, and I think change is happening,” Russell said in 2023 when The Athletic asked about racing in Qatar. “It obviously doesn’t happen overnight. It’s obviously a very important topic with many places we go to, but I think Formula One and sport generally can have a really positive impact for the local culture and issues that they’re facing. So yeah, I hope we’re here for the right reasons.”
