Posted on 11/27/2025 12:46:24 PM PST by Carriage Hill
2025 FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX - Live Thread.
Circuit: Lusail International Circuit First Grand Prix: 2021, Number of Laps: 57, Circuit Length: 5.419 km, Race Distance: 308.611 km, Lap Record: 1:24.319 Max Verstappen (2023)
Is that an AI-created scenario?
No, just something I had to write - no AI. The fictitious names come from how baseball case books are written in their rule book. (See the batting out of order rule.)
The 25 lap rule can be adjusted by the race director (chief steward) if the pit is closed for safety reasons naturally. A red flag is best because it is a free stop.
Each set has been given an RFID identity to show how many laps were races during the weekend. Ferrari could have an advantage in being knocked out early because they have more sets that can be used since they do not have any laps. More stickers mean the full 23 race laps plus in and out lap (which count to the limit).
The CCP is the primary owner of Pirelli, and they decided alone to put the 25 lap cap on all sets. All sets used in practice, qualifying, and sprint races have their laps logged so they have fewer than 25 laps they can use most sets. The set they choose to start means they will not have 25 laps available.
We have a case similar to NASCAR Cup at Bristol, but there, it was ambient plus track temperature caused a situation where Goodyear used extremely soft tyres that did not want to put down rubber on concrete when it was under a set temperature. Drivers there had to pace themselves and car setup to maximise tyre life. This contrasts to the 2017 and 2020 INDYCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway. In 2017, tyre wear late in the race created two safety cars after 30 laps of green. In 2020, the season opener, they imposed a 35 lap cap (grace period for safety cars) because tyre production had been curtailed by the China Fraud.
So the CCP Tyre decides their way is to make you change tyres instead of having a superior driver who can make setup changes and manage his tyre wear best have the edge.
This contrasts to a NASCAR, URA, CARS, TUNDRA, or any Super Late Model driver who understands how to manage a high wear track with abrasive tarmac to take advantage of his skill set. If Josh Berry (one of the better NASCAR high wear drivers, came from the Southeastern Late Model scene where the surfaces are cheese graters) was driving an F1 car at Qatar, he would probably be adjusting suspension and driving slower to get his car to 35-40 laps on a set of hard tyres and finishing the race on one stop.
The CCP does not want drivers who can make one fewer stop based on his ability to manage tyres.
"...McLaren has seen this movie. In Las Vegas, Norris tried to squeeze Verstappen off the launch and wound up overcooking Turn 1. Different track, same principle: you don’t leave Verstappen a door ajar and expect him not to walk through it..."
"If Verstappen doesn’t send it into Turn 1, it’ll be because he couldn’t, not because he wouldn’t. The straight is long, the slipstream powerful, and his race almost certainly depends on track position early. If he does get past one McLaren, the race turns cagey: tyre delta, undercuts, and the choreography of two orange cars versus one blue. If he doesn’t, he’ll be made to suffer in dirty air and asked to invent a win later, which he’s done before—but rarely against this version of McLaren.
"Either way, the opening seconds are everything. The champion needs a door. McLaren’s job is to slam it without tripping over its own feet. We won’t need to wait long to find out who blinks first."
"...Even when we were commenting on Oscar struggling a little bit, I've always emphasised that there are technical aspects in the way the drivers exploit the grip available and the potential in the car," Stella explained.
"And here in Qatar, we go back to the category of circuits with high grip. And in the category of circuits of high grip, I think Oscar is in his most natural way of driving the car, and he can really maximise the potential available...."
Good race, and on to Abu Dhabi we go!
Shall we go ahead and crown Max WDC now, or wait for the race?
Either Norris already would have clinched it or Piastri would have a commanding lead going into Abu Dhabi if McLaren had used split strategeries at Las Vegas. And we'll never know what not using split strategeries at Qatar cost them. Stella even admits it was a mistake, so why is he determined to make it again?
Maybe it's the old curmudgeon in my but, sorry, I can't agree.
It was a crappy race.
Max won with a single "competitive" overtake and that was at the start. All other overtakes were incidental to pit stops. Pit stops aren't racing. Tire management isn't racing. Neither is fuel management. Those are all part and parcel to it but racing is SUPPOSED TO BE going as fast as you can without flying off the track. Pinochle of motor sports my arse!
It speaks to our lowered expectations that anyone should consider this a 'good' race.
The CCP tyre engineers fixed this. They did not want drivers trying 40 laps on a set when it was possible.
Good drivers and engineers were punished. The Gasly and Hulkenberg crash determined the race. Max pitted on Lap 8 and could only pit on Lap 33 for the final run. The McLarens pitted PIA on 24 and NOR on 25. They had options but Max was able to hold serve.
“It speaks to our lowered expectations that anyone should consider this a ‘good’ race.”
Compared to the past couple seasons’ prior races, it was a ‘good race’.
[Try “pinnacle”...]
I can’t believe that after McLaren stayed out while the rest of the field pitted during the safety car, that they put on another set of mediums to both cars when they eventually did pit on lap 25. That guaranteed a two stop race for them.
Why didn’t they put at least one car on hards to see if they could make it a one stopper. At worst they’d have to make a second stop anyway if it didn’t work out, and they would have a new set of mediums at the end, or a used set of softs.
Questionable strategy, at best, wasn’t it?
All teams needed two stops at the behest of the CCP state-owned ChemChina, which owns 37.5% of Pirelli (the biggest stakeholder).
The teams that pitted on Lap 8 risked a DQ if they did not pit on Lap 33. It was akin to the old CART Road America days when teams could only pit on Lap 17 and Lap 34 of the 50-lap races at Road America (200 miles) on 40 gallons of methanol. Teams often ran out of methanol trying to stretch it on Lap 50. So if you did Lap 8, you had to pit on Lap 33. Pit on 32, you need to pit on Lap 57. Pit on 34, you’re disqualified.
Eventually CART found a way top stop this type of racing at Road America on fuel saving by adding 20 miles to the races (55 laps), which is why Road America races are 55 laps even to modern INDYCAR.
McLaren would have won if the safety car came in a manner that would have flowed them. They didn’t.
Red Bull has apprised the FIA that Kimi Antonelli is getting death threats from fans over Qatar, mostly because of a remark from Verstappen’s race engineer.
When Antonelli bobbled, Gianpiero Lambiase said, “Not sure what happened to Antonelli, Max, looks like he just pulled over and let Norris through.” Which some fans have taken to mean it looked like it was deliberate.
https://www.distractify.com/p/did-antonelli-let-norris-pass
Interesting points situation. I can’t ever remember another season when going into the final race the wins were evenly distributed among three drivers, but we’re there now. After 21 races, Norris, Verstappen and Piastri each has won seven.
Which means it could get interesting in the (unlikely*) event that none of them wins at Abu Dhabi and there’s a tie for the points lead, because the 1st tie-breaker is number of wins. And if the three of them all still have seven, there’s no help there.
Norris has a commanding lead in 2nd place finishes, so he would win a tie against either Verstappen or Piastri. But Piastri has the most 3rd place results, so he would win WDC in case of a tie with Verstappen if he and Max both had more points than Norris (but neither wins the race).
One of the bloggers at gpblog.com remarked that Norris could play it safe and he’s probably still guaranteed to come (at least) third, and third wins him the WDC regardless what Verstappen and Piastri do. Except that the safest place to be in a race is always in the front, because there’s less of a chance that some nincompoop is going to run into you.
Not driving the way you’ve practiced introduces a great many unknowns, and not driving ballstothewall is inviting any one of Sainz, Antonelli and Russell to take a pot-shot at you that might end in grief (for everybody not a Red Bull fan).
I think the better strategery is to pretend it’s the first race of the season and let the racing gods have their say.
*And it’s not like this season hasn’t had more than it’s share of likely come to pass, now is it?
Force of habit.
I used to have a boss who was always spouting platitudes but doing just the opposite. He also always used to say "pinochle" when he meant "pinnacle."
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