[GuidoK]

F1 2025: Qatar GP - Lusail (Nov 30)

Schedule:
https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2025/qatar
This is a SPRINT weekend!
(Start times adjusts automatically to your local time/date depending on your browsers/internet settings)

Circuit:
Lusail International Circuit



Circuit stats:
First Grand Prix: 2021
Number of Laps: 57
Circuit Length: 5.419 km
Race Distance: 308.611 km
Lap Record: 1:22.384 (Lando Norris 2024)

Tires:

https://press.pirelli.com/another-de...-time-in-doha/

Onboard Lap:
(2024 Max Verstappen pole lap)
HERE

2024 thread:
https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2149509

2024 race highlights:
HERE

2024 Lollipopman comic

[GuidoK]

So what are your predictions?

This is already the 2nd race in this triple header that is placed at the end of the 2025 F1 season.
And what a season it is!
The disqualifications of both McLaren cars due to plank wear in Vegas made the WDC a real rollercoaster. Max Verstappen is on a roll and now is equal to Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris still has a 24 point lead, which is considerable especially as the McLaren car still is the fastest car on a lot of tracks (Qatar might be one of those).
But this year (and also previous years) have shown that Lando can crack under pressure and no one like Max can give that pressure as he seems to thrive on that. But the 24 point lead from Lando means that not only Max needs to beat Lando. If Lando finishes 2nd in all races he'll still grab the WDC. In fact if he finishes 3rd in every race including the sprint race he'll still grab the WDC.
What can Oscar do? Will he also still fight for the WDC, or will there be a situation (and a radio call) that Oscar is asked to give up position to favour Lando?
If so that would show that papaya rules are a farce, but it would be really interesting to see what Oscar will do.

This is my prediction:

1. VER
2. NOR
3. RUS
4. PIA
5. ANT
6. HAD
7. LEC
8. ALO
9. BEA
10. HAM

For people who don't place predictions: please refrain from giving negative comments after the race on predictions other members have given. Nobody makes perfect predictions, and if you don't make predictions yourself, you're not showing you know better.

[M5Rick]

NOR should take a new PU at Jeddah but he may not as it would drop him 10 places from the position he qualifies from and with the Vegas disaster he won't go for a win. For the sprint he'll hold back too.
1. MAX
2. LEC
3. NOR
4. RUS
5. PIA
6. SAI
7.ANT
8. ALB
9. HAM
10. ?

[omgzirra_exe]

With how low McLaren has been running all season and the way their skid blocks have been heating up, it is pretty clear they were using an aggressive ride-height strategy to gain performance. Now that they have had to raise the car and lose that advantage, I think Max has this one locked up.

1. Max
2. Lec
3. Ant
4. Sai
5. Rus
6. Nor
7. Pia
8. Hul
9. Ham
10. Had

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

NOR should take a new PU at Jeddah but he may not as it would drop him 10 places from the position he qualifies from and with the Vegas disaster he won't go for a win. For the sprint he'll hold back too.
1. MAX
2. LEC
3. NOR
4. RUS
5. PIA
6. SAI
7.ANT
8. ALB
9. HAM
10. ?

If you drop the car 1 millimetre lower , you get a 0.2 sec. faster lap time (!)
The rest we know from Vegas ...
On the other hand : This means that McLaren has to lift the car in the last 2 races.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

If you drop the car 1 millimetre lower , you get a 0.2 sec. faster lap time (!)
The rest we know from Vegas ...
On the other hand : This means that McLaren has to lift the car in the last 2 races.

Because of this I believe there could be some more dirty tricks like the failed one from Lando at the start of the LV GP you showed me and Oscar could be used, lets remember its still 2-1 against lone MAX.

[Artemis]

Wondering how the porpoising at the bumpy Las Vegas street circuit affected or even damaged the chassis of the McLaren cars. The cars and drivers took a beating with the setup.

Up to McLaren to decide whether it's recommended to change the chassis.

[fs1977]

I'm just hoping the WDC will be decided in the last race. So Verstappen, and preferably Piastri also, have to be in front of Norris.

[Artemis]

BBC - "How Title Race Is Developing": https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/a...s/c3w7pdl654zo

WDC gap after the Dutch GP:

VER and PIA: 104 points | VER and NOR: 70 points | NOR and PIA: 34 points





WDC gap after the Las Vegas GP:

VER and PIA: 0 points | VER and NOR: 24 points | PIA and NOR: 24 points

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Wondering how the porpoising at the bumpy Las Vegas street circuit affected or even damaged the chassis of the McLaren cars. The cars and drivers took a beating with the setup.

Up to McLaren to decide whether it's recommended to change the chassis.

Interesting (Dutch) article => https://www.f1maximaal.nl/analyse/nb...-tegen-mclaren

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Interesting (Dutch) article => https://www.f1maximaal.nl/analyse/nb...-tegen-mclaren

"In addition, you can't aim for 1.00 millimetre of wear. McLaren cannot afford a repeat and will therefore have to take a considerable margin. The worst-case scenario is that Norris becomes world champion in Abu Dhabi, parties for hours, and then is told that he has been removed from the results and that Verstappen has become [2025] champion after all. McLaren wants to prevent this at all costs and will probably have to increase the ride height by a few millimetres."

Original text: "'Daarnaast kun je niet mikken op 1,00 millimeter aan slijtage. McLaren kan zich geen herhaling veroorloven en zal dus een flinke marge moeten nemen. Het grootste horrorscenario is dat Norris in Abu Dhabi wereldkampioen wordt, uren gaat feesten, en vervolgens te horen krijgt dat hij uit de uitslag gehaald wordt en dat toch Verstappen [2025] kampioen geworden is. McLaren wil dit koste wat kost voorkomen en zal de rijhoogte vermoedelijk met enkele millimeters moeten verhogen.'"

[Artemis]

Pirelli: https://press.pirelli.com/verstappen...ionship-alive/

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Artemis

"In addition, you can't aim for 1.00 millimetre of wear. McLaren cannot afford a repeat and will therefore have to take a considerable margin. The worst-case scenario is that Norris becomes world champion in Abu Dhabi, parties for hours, and then is told that he has been removed from the results and that Verstappen has become [2025] champion after all. McLaren wants to prevent this at all costs and will probably have to increase the ride height by a few millimetres."

Original text: "'Daarnaast kun je niet mikken op 1,00 millimeter aan slijtage. McLaren kan zich geen herhaling veroorloven en zal dus een flinke marge moeten nemen. Het grootste horrorscenario is dat Norris in Abu Dhabi wereldkampioen wordt, uren gaat feesten, en vervolgens te horen krijgt dat hij uit de uitslag gehaald wordt en dat toch Verstappen [2025] kampioen geworden is. McLaren wil dit koste wat kost voorkomen en zal de rijhoogte vermoedelijk met enkele millimeters moeten verhogen.'"

Exactly

Interesting fact is : If you lift the car 1 millimetre then the car will be +/- 17 sec. slower over a whole +/- 300 km race distance (!)
If you drop the car just 1 millimetre , the car is 0.2 sec./lap faster.
In F1 is 1 millimeter a sea of time (!)

Piastri's floor had even more floor plank wear .
His plank wear , left front side exceeded the maximum wear by 26% (!)

Norris won the Brazilian GP with a cheating McLaren car ...
Too bad the FIA car regulations doesn't work retroactively (!)
McLaren already knew during the Formation Lap that the car was sitting too low ..

[SilverSun]

1. Max
2. Lec
3. Ant
4. Sai
5. Rus
6. Ham
7. Nor
8. Pia
9. Had
10. Hul

[Killed by Death]

1. LEC, He is due for 1 lucky win
2. MAX
3: No One Else Matters

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

BBC - "How Title Race Is Developing": https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/a...s/c3w7pdl654zo

WDC gap after the Dutch GP:

VER and PIA: 104 points | VER and NOR: 70 points | NOR and PIA: 34 points

Attachment 3862194
Attachment 3862198


WDC gap after the Las Vegas GP:

VER and PIA: 0 points | VER and NOR: 24 points | PIA and NOR: 24 points

Attachment 3862193
Attachment 3862197

''Anything can happen in F1 ..and it usually does'' Murray Walker.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Pirelli: https://press.pirelli.com/verstappen...ionship-alive/

Attachment 3862200

Don't think that's MAX's car but indeed he hasn't only kept the c/ship alive, he's resurrected it from the dead.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Don't think that's MAX's car but indeed he hasn't only kept the c/ship alive, he's resurrected it from the dead.

Yeah .That's YUKI's car number 22 .

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yeah .That's YUKI's car number 22 .

Aha Pirelli chap too busy having a bit of vino and shpaghetti at the time of picking that one, Italians
...and here's me waiting for our salmon fillets to de-frost so we can cook them

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

NOR should take a new PU at Jeddah but he may not as it would drop him 10 places from the position he qualifies from and with the Vegas disaster he won't go for a win. For the sprint he'll hold back too.

Lusail instead of Jeddah.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Lusail instead of Jeddah.

I thought at first Jeddah was another name for Lusail, too many tracks in the Middle East

[dfox]

I see Norris taking the championship this weekend. I don't think the plank wear adjustment is going to impact them at all. I think they just miscalculated wear because of the rain and the fact that they changed wings... just miscalculated. Unfortunate, but I don't think it's a deal breaker for their car moving forward.