Russell poised to take advantage of McLaren and Ferrari’s title fight in sprint race

With Lando Norris’s of faint hopes of overcoming Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship finally extinguished last weekend in Las Vegas, McLaren has turned its focus on securing its first constructors’ title for a generation in Qatar.

While they cannot defeat Ferrari in today’s sprint race, they can definitely put their rivals in check – and their grid positions offer the opportunity to do exactly that.

Both McLaren drivers sit ahead of the Ferraris on the grid, with Norris on pole position and Oscar Piastri lining up third. Ferrari had looked as if they could challenge McLaren at the very front of the field after Charles Leclerc was quickest in the only practice session of the weekend, but that promising pace did not translate in qualifying as he and Carlos Sainz Jnr ended up only fourth and fifth on the sprint race grid.

“Our practice performance was better than expected, so our hopes were that we could finish sprint qualifying in good positions, given that this weekend is such an important one for us,” said Leclerc. “Unfortunately, we didn’t and P4 and P5 is all that was possible.”

With Ferrari not looking as strong as they expected to be and McLaren more focused on the bigger picture than just winning a sprint race, one driver has nothing to lose in going for the win – George Russell. Starting alongside Norris on the front row, Russell said he will “definitely” be going for the win in the sprint race. But after Piastri won last year’s sprint race, Russell cannot expect that the McLarens will simply open the door for him to waltz through to victory.

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Weather

Starting at 5pm local time, today’s sprint race will begin as the sun sets, unlike Sunday’s Grand Prix, which will take place entirely in darkness. That means the temperatures will be slightly warmer than qualifying and the grand prix itself – but only by a matter of a degree or two.

The earlier start time also means that winds are likely to be higher than they will be for the final two sessions of the weekend. The Formula 2 drivers found the wind challenging during their practice session held earlier in the day on Friday, but the heavier F1 cars might prove more stable.

Start

Last year’s sprint race saw the two McLarens sharing the front row with Piastri ahead of his team mate. But Norris had an all-too-familiar sluggish start and was immediately swamped by Russell behind him and Sainz behind him.

The right-left combination of turns one and two means that, like Miami, being on the outside of a rival into the first corner can be preferable to the inside, as it yields a stronger position on the approach to the second turn. This was the case last year with Russell and Sainz going side-by-side into the first corner, but the Mercedes driver prevailing through the left hander.

Russell will start on the dirty side of the grid, however, which is also the inside for turn one. But given Norris’s record in starts from pole position, that is not necessarily a bad thing for the Mercedes driver.

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Strategy

The Losail sprint race in 2023 was one of the most open sprint races for strategy seen so far. The 20 starters were split almost 50-50 between medium and soft tyres throughout the field, with 12 opting for the mediums and eight the softer compound.

However, over the course of the 19-lap race, the mediums proved the superior choice in the humid conditions as the softs suffered far more with graining and thermal degradation than its counterparts.

This year is slightly different as the later race date means temperatures will be cooler than last year. That moves the soft compound more into the window where it could still be an attractive option for today’s race.

Overtaking

Not for the first time in recent rounds, the main DRS zone at the Losail circuit along the pit straight has been shortened. Today will be the first indication of how much of an impact that will have on the racing.

If drivers can keep close to rivals through the fast triple right-handers of turns 12-14, then overtaking is absolutely possible into the first corner. Despite falling to fifth at the start of last year’s sprint, Verstappen managed to pass Leclerc, Sainz and Russell on track to finish second last year, while Norris recovered from a poor start to pass the same three drivers on his way to third.

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Safety Cars

Although there was just one Safety Car period during last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, there were no fewer than three in the sprint race – the most ever in the format.

The opening corners, naturally, are where the greatest danger of incidents occurring lies. Last year’s sprint race saw Liam Lawson spin out at the second corner, while Lewis Hamilton retired at the start of the grand prix after contact with his team mate.

The gravel strips installed at the exit of several corners this weekend have also increased the likelihood of incidents. Not only will they punish mistakes more severely, risking damage and offering more opportunities to drivers behind, but the sand and dust kicked up onto the racing surface will reduce grip for all drivers.

One to watch

Lawson is still waiting for his stand-out performance since rejoining the grid with RB. At a circuit he has experience with in a Formula 1 car, he has made a promising start to the weekend by qualifying way above his team mate Yuki Tsunoda on the sprint race grid.

Last year, his sprint race lasted all of two corners. Will he be able to add more vital points to his tally today ad boost RB’s championship hopes in the battle for sixth place?

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Over to you

Who is best poised to win today’s sprint race? Let us know in the comments below.

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