F1 update – Qatar GP

Round 23 and the penultimate round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship was at the Lusail Circuit in Qatar for the Qatar Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his ninth victory of the year finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who finished second with Oscar Piastri in McLaren finishing third.

Qatar GP -top 5:

• 1st: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 2nd: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 3rd: Oscar Piastri – McLaren
• 4th: George Russell – Mercedes
• 5th: Pierre Gasly – Alpine

Other highlights:

• Williams’s Franco Colapinto and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon were involved in a collision and both retired on the spot at turn 1 on the opening lap.
• Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll would retire on lap 9 due to collision damage after colliding with Williams’s Alexander Albon on the opening lap at turn 4.
• Red Bull’s Sergio Perez would retire on lap 39 after spinning out on the exit of turn 14 with clutch problems just before the restart after the second safety car period.
• Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg would retire on lap 40 after spinning out at turn 10.
• McLaren’s Lando Norris was given a 10 second stop/go penalty for speeding under double waved yellows after Alexander Albon’s Williams lost it’s wing mirror during the race, he would still finish the race in tenth with fastest lap of the race.
• Mercedes’s Sir Lewis Hamilton had a race to forget as he was given a 5 second time penalty for a false start and then later on was given a drive through penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
• Mercedes’s George Russell was given a 5 second time penalty for falling more than 10 car lengths behind the car in front under a safety car period.
• Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou scored his and the teams first points of the year with an eighth place finish and in turn was named driver of the day.

News:

• Britain’s Alpine backed driver Abbi Pulling has clinched the F1 Academy title after finishing second behind title rival France’s Mercedes backed driver Doriane Pin in the only race to be held at Qatar. The second F1 Academy was cancelled due to barrier repairs that needed to take place, with the Abu Dhabi meeting staging a third race to make up for that.
• Chelmsford’s Oliver Bearman took victory in the Formula 2 sprint race in Qatar.
• Ferrari were fined 5,000 euros for an unsafe release during qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.
• McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took victory in the last sprint race of the F1 season finishing ahead of team mate Lando Norris with Mercedes George Russell in third.
• Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher is to leave the team and race in sportscars for Alpine in 2025.
• The organisers of the Dutch Grand Prix that there will be no Dutch Grand Prix after 2026.
• Alpine announced that reserve driver Jack Doohan will make his Formula 1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix replacing Esteban Ocon.

The next round (the final round) of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship will take place at Yas Marina Circuit in Dubai for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 6th to 8th December.

Here’s Aston and regular contributor Cameron Perkins with the latest from the world of Formula 1.