Qatar GP 2024, race technique – After securing pole place at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, George Russell as soon as once more begins on the entrance of the grid. In actuality, the quickest time was set by Max Verstappen, however a penalty promoted Mercedes’ W15 automotive quantity 63, confirming the crew’s sturdy kind seen in the US. Within the second row, the 2 McLaren drivers are positioned, sensing that the Constructors’ Championship is turning into extra inside attain, partly on account of Ferrari not being at their finest however nonetheless hoping to recuperate with race tempo proven in the course of the Dash Race.
The end result of the race is unsure, contemplating each the qualifying outcomes and, extra importantly, the Dash Race, which ended with a McLaren one-two end (Piastri forward of Norris, editor’s observe). Nonetheless, they have been unable to determine a big hole over the competitors, which stayed shut all through the race. Given this, and the difficult tire administration on a monitor that locations lots of stress on the compounds, the race is anticipated to be unpredictable in its ultimate consequence.
Earlier than diving into the main points of strategic predictions, let’s check out the tire decisions made by Pirelli for the twenty third spherical of the 2024 World Championship. In contrast to Las Vegas, the place the softer compounds have been launched, Pirelli has introduced the toughest tires of their vary: C1 onerous, C2 medium, and C3 gentle. Let’s instantly take a look at the tire units accessible to the drivers.
Qatar GP 2024 – Technique: Single Cease Anticipated to Be Helpful
It ought to be famous that predicting crew methods this yr has been significantly tough. Tires have typically been a puzzle, resulting in techniques that diverged from what was anticipated on paper.
For the Losail Grand Prix, you will need to think about the resurfacing of the curbs, that are decrease than final yr when many tire points arose because of the sharp edges of the curbs positioned on the exterior of the corners, resulting in tires getting reduce. This prompted a multi-stop technique final yr.
This yr, the problem has been resolved, and Pirelli’s engineers anticipate that one of the best tactic can be a single cease, beginning with the medium tire, which ought to final between 19 and 25 laps, adopted by a swap to the onerous tire to complete the race.
Apart from the curbs, Pirelli’s chief engineer Simone Berra highlighted that the general grip degree this yr is increased than final yr, stopping lateral sliding and untimely tire put on. The anticipated graining was lower than anticipated. This, mixed with decrease degradation, suggests {that a} single-stop technique would be the most advantageous.
In fact, there’s little knowledge on the onerous tire, a compound not used in the course of the Dash Race and solely seen briefly throughout Friday’s sole follow session. The efficiency of this compound would be the deciding issue: if it performs nicely, a single cease can be viable; in any other case, various methods equivalent to a two-stop plan with two onerous tire stints after an preliminary medium stint could also be used.
There’s little expectation of using the gentle C3 tire, a compound that might result in extreme put on and fast efficiency degradation. Whereas a number of drivers have a number of units of this compound (Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon every have three accessible), it’s unlikely that anybody will use it, particularly since overtaking at Losail is tough, and having to recuperate positions can be very disadvantageous.
The race can be held below the climate circumstances noticed within the previous days, with temperatures not too excessive however winds that would trigger points, with gusts anticipated at as much as 40 kilometers per hour. The drivers might want to handle these circumstances, particularly by means of medium- to high-speed corners.
Moreover, the wind tends to convey desert sand onto the monitor, which doesn’t assist keep preferrred asphalt circumstances. This presents one other small problem, a further variable to think about within the tough equation that’s the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
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