| 2024 Qatar Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 23 of 24 in the2024 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
 Layout of the Lusail International Circuit | |||||
| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 1 December 2024 (2024-12-01) | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 Qatar AirwaysQatar Grand Prix 2024 | ||||
| Location | Lusail International Circuit Lusail,Qatar | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.419 km (3.367 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 57 laps, 308.611 km (191.762 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Clear | ||||
| Attendance | 154,973[2] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:20.575 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:22.384 on lap 56(lap record) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2024 Qatar Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024) was aFormula One motor race held on 1 December 2024 at theLusail International Circuit inLusail,Qatar. It was the twenty-third and penultimate round of the2024 Formula One World Championship and the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise thesprint format.
Lando Norris ofMcLaren took pole position for the sprint event, and then ceded position to his teammateOscar Piastri in the closing lap of the sprint. Piastri won his second sprint race ahead of Norris and George Russell ofMercedes. Russell took pole position for the main race afterMax Verstappen ofRed Bull Racing, who set the fastest time in qualifying, was demoted a position due to driving slowly during qualifying. Despite the penalty, Verstappen went on to win the race ahead ofFerrari'sCharles Leclerc and Piastri. This was the last race where the fastest lap point was awarded after being reintroduced for the2019 season.
The event was held at theLusail International Circuit inLusail for the third time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 29 November – 1 December.[5] The Grand Prix was the twenty-third and penultimate round of the2024 Formula One World Championship and the third running of theQatar Grand Prix.[6] It was also the sixth and final Grand Prix in the season to utilise thesprint format and the second time overall that the Qatar Grand Prix will feature it.[7]
Going into the weekend,Max Verstappen, who clinched the title at theprevious Grand Prix, led theDrivers' Championship with 403 points, 63 points ahead ofLando Norris in second, and 84 ahead ofCharles Leclerc in third.McLaren, holding 608 points, entered this round as the leader of theConstructors' Championship fromFerrari andRed Bull Racing, who were second and third with 584 and 555 points, respectively.[8]
McLaren had an opportunity to secure its ninthWorld Constructors' Championship title at this event, the first since1998. At the conclusion of this Grand Prix, there would have been one race left in the2024 Formula One World Championship, with 44 points still available. McLaren could have won the title if they had outscoredFerrari by at least 20 points, and would not have been outscored byRed Bull Racing by more than 9. The title could not be decided at the end of the sprint.[9]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with two exceptions:[10]Franco Colapinto, who replacedLogan Sargeant atWilliams from theItalian Grand Prix onwards, andLiam Lawson, who replacedDaniel Ricciardo atRB from theUnited States Grand Prix.[11][12][13]
The Grand Prix markedEsteban Ocon's last race start forAlpine, as he was required by the team to exit one race early so he could drive forHaas in the post-season test in anticipation for their2025 campaign together. Reserve driver and 2025 signingJack Doohan was called up to replace him for theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix.[14]
Tyre supplierPirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (the three hardest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[15]
TheDRS zone leading in to turn 1 was shortened by 100 metres (330 ft).[16]
The onlyfree practice session was held on 29 November 2024, at 16:30 local time (UTC+3),[1] and was topped byCharles Leclerc ofFerrari ahead ofLando Norris ofMcLaren and his teammateOscar Piastri.[17]
Sprint qualifying was held on 29 November 2024, at 20:30 local time (UTC+3), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.[1]
Notes
Thesprint was held on 30 November 2024, at 17:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run for 19 laps.[1]
Sergio Pérez andFranco Colapinto both started from the pit lane due to unauthorised changes to their cars inparc fermé.[20]Lando Norris led into turn 1, withOscar Piastri narrowly ahead ofGeorge Russell.McLaren instructed Norris to keep Piastri within a second of him in order to give PiastriDRS to help him stay ahead of Russell. On lap 10,Charles Leclerc overtookLewis Hamilton to take fifth place.Zhou Guanyu was forced to box to replace his graining soft tyres, while Pérez would also box for a new front wing.[21]
On the race’s last lap, despite McLaren’s wishing to keep the order, Norris slowed down to let Piastri take the chequered flag first, handing him victory. Norris later clarified he was "returning the favour", after Piastri allowed Norris to overtake him to take a sprint victory in theSão Paulo Grand Prix. Russell completed the podium ahead ofCarlos Sainz Jr., Leclerc, Hamilton,Nico Hülkenberg andMax Verstappen, who was unable to catch Hülkenberg after being overtaken by him on the first lap.[21]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 |  Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | 27:03.010 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | +0.136 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 19 | +0.410 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 55 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 19 | +1.326 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 19 | +5.073 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 19 | +5.650 | 7 | 3 |
| 7 | 27 |  Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 19 | +8.508 | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | 1 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 19 | +10.368 | 6 | 1 |
| 9 | 10 |  Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 19 | +14.513 | 8 | |
| 10 | 20 |  Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 19 | +15.485 | 15 | |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston MartinAramco-Mercedes | 19 | +19.204 | 11 | |
| 12 | 77 |  Valtteri Bottas | KickSauber-Ferrari | 19 | +23.351 | 13 | |
| 13 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | Aston MartinAramco-Mercedes | 19 | +24.421 | 14 | |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 19 | +30.379 | 17 | |
| 15 | 23 |  Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 19 | +33.062 | 12 | |
| 16 | 30 |  Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 19 | +34.356 | 10 | |
| 17 | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 19 | +35.102 | 16 | |
| 18 | 43 |  Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | 19 | +35.639 | PL | |
| 19 | 24 |  Zhou Guanyu | KickSauber-Ferrari | 19 | +1:11.436 | 18 | |
| 20 | 11 |  Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 19 | +1:14.371 | PL | |
| Fastest lap:Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:23.923 (lap 18) | |||||||
| Source:[19][22] | |||||||
Qualifying was held on 30 November 2024, at 21:00 local time (UTC+3), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.[1]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Final grid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:21.579 | 1:20.687 | 1:20.520 | 21 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:21.241 | 1:21.069 | 1:20.575 | 1 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.578 | 1:20.983 | 1:20.772 | 3 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.821 | 1:21.121 | 1:20.829 | 4 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:21.278 | 1:21.000 | 1:20.852 | 5 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:21.637 | 1:21.095 | 1:21.011 | 6 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:21.447 | 1:21.199 | 1:21.041 | 7 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston MartinAramco-Mercedes | 1:21.608 | 1:21.208 | 1:21.251 | 8 |
| 9 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 1:21.675 | 1:21.425 | 1:21.425 | 9 |
| 10 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1:21.891 | 1:21.387 | 1:21.500 | 10 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1:21.843 | 1:21.437 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KickSauber-Ferrari | 1:22.103 | 1:21.501 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KickSauber-Ferrari | 1:21.927 | 1:21.731 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 1:22.364 | 1:21.771 | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston MartinAramco-Mercedes | 1:22.011 | 1:21.911 | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1:22.390 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 1:22.411 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1:22.442 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | 1:22.594 | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:22.714 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 107% time: 1:26.927 | |||||||
| Source:[23][24] | |||||||
Notes
The race was held on 1 December 2024, at 19:00 local time (UTC+3), and was run 57 laps.[1]
Max Verstappen won the race having taken the lead fromGeorge Russell at the start, ahead ofCharles Leclerc,Oscar Piastri and Russell, who finished fourth despite a five-second penalty for a safety car infringement.Zhou Guanyu finished eighth to score his first points of the year forSauber (and Sauber's only points finish of the season).Lando Norris was tenth – he was running second for much of the race before receiving a ten second stop and go penalty for ignoring yellow flags.Lewis Hamilton finished 12th after having received a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The race saw three safety cars. The first was for the lap 1 incident betweenNico Hülkenberg,Franco Colapinto andEsteban Ocon, the second to clear debris fromAlexander Albon's wing mirror, and the third after Hülkenberg andSergio Pérez spun off following the end of the second safety car period.[26]
Despite Verstappen's victory, Red Bull dropped out of contention for theWorld Constructors' Championship that the team had won in the previous two seasons, leavingMcLaren andFerrari with a chance to claim the title in theseason finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[27]
Notes
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous race: 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2024 season | Next race: 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2023 Qatar Grand Prix | Qatar Grand Prix | Next race: 2025 Qatar Grand Prix |
