Race Recap | 2024 Qatar GP

(If you prefer, you can watch this video: Race Recap | 2024 Qatar GP)

The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix just took place and what an unpredictable race it was. Here are some key moments from the evening:

• Max Verstappen won the race in a dominant fashion (clean drive, no mistakes) while his teammate Sergio Perez DNF’d after he lost the drive. Not that he was about to score any points anyway.

• George Russell weaseled his way to pole position but went from P1 to P3 in the first two corners of the first lap because of karma.

• Sauber scored their first points of the season with Zhou finishing P8, scoring four points. That’s two more points than Sergio Perez in the last four race weekends.

• Ferrari outscored McLaren by 9 points, closing the gap to the Papaya Team in the constructor’s standings to 21 points. Looks like it will go all the way down to the last lap of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

• Pierre Gasly dragged that Alpine to P5, bringing home ten points. This puts the French outfit back in P6 in the constructor’s standings, with an impressive five-point lead over the Haas team. It’s another battle that will be decided in the final race of this surprisingly exciting 2024 season.

• The Williams of Franco Colapinto got into a crash to uphold the traditions of destroying at least one car in a particular race weekend, although this time it wasn’t really his fault.

• Russell snitched on Max to get him a one-place grid penalty, Max snitched on Lando to get him a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, and Lando snitched on Lewis to get him a drive-through penalty. 

There are plenty of things to talk about in the race.

Let’s analyze how each of the teams has performed collectively, starting from the worst performers and ending with the highest scorers of the weekend.

1. Williams Mercedes (0 points)

• Alexander Albon (Started 16th, Finished 15th, 0 points)

• Franco Colapinto (Started 19th, DNF, 0 points)

They were on the back foot throughout the weekend. It could be because the drivers were scared to push the car hard considering they have got into enough crashes to cripple their team physically, mentally, and financially.

After both the drivers failed to get some temperature into the tires and got knocked out in Q1, I knew they would leave the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix empty-handed. On a positive note, they only had one crash this weekend and will finish P9 in the constructor’s standings regardless.

2. RB Honda RBPT (0 points)

• Yuki Tsunoda (Started 14th, Finished 13th, 0 points)

• Liam Lawson (Started 17th, Finished 14th, 0 points)

I feel bad for both of these drivers. First, they are young and have a lot of pressure on them. Being in the Vcarb team is like being in the execution chamber. You never know when Helmut Marko orders a hit on you.

Moreover, these blokes are battling against Nico and Kevin, seasoned veterans who have nothing to lose. Both Yuki and Liam are actually racing for their future in F1 which can be quite stressful considering their car was trash the whole weekend.

Currently, they are a whopping 13 points behind Alpine for the battle to P6 in the constructors’ and, after their performance in the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, it not looking good.

In retrospect, they shouldn’t have pitted in Sao Paolo during the heavy rain to sacrifice track position, but hindsight is always 20/20.

3. Haas Ferrari (2 points)

• Kevin Magnussen (Started 10th, Finished 9th, 2 points)

• Nico Hülkenberg (Started 18th, DNF, 0 points)

The American outfit actually scored four points over the whole weekend. Nico scored a couple of points in the Sprint race. Although Alpine got the jump over them, thanks to Pierre’s phenomenal drive, these guys are still strong contenders considering their consistency.

With one race still to go, it is quite possible that the German and Danish drivers could close that five-point gap and may even beat them. However, it’s easier said than done because Gasly is great in qualifying.

Apart from their consistent form and admirable race pace, Haas can seek solace in the fact that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will bring some overtaking opportunities and can mix things up with a safety car or two.

4. Kick Sauber Ferrari (4 points)

• Zhou Guanyu (Started 12th, Finished 8th, 4 points)

• Valtteri Bottas (Started 13th, Finished 11th, 0 points)

After a difficult season, Sauber finally got its first points. At a particular instant, it was looking like Bottas would also finish in the points, but it was too much of an ask to defend against Lando Norris in a McLaren.

Apart from two heavy penalties to Norris and Hamilton and a few potential point-scorers (not Perez) DNF-ing, they also had a bit of pace. Both Zhou and Bottas pulled strong overtakes against Tsunoda and were looking good in terms of race performance.

Personally, I am quite happy that Zhou got these points, considering he doesn’t have a seat for the upcoming season. It’s just cherry on top that he got the DOTD award as well.

5. Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes (6 points)

• Fernando Alonso (Started 8th, Finished 7th, 6 points)

• Lance Stroll (Started 15th, DNF, 0 points)

God Bless Fernando.

After putting that tractor in P8 in qualifying while his teammate lined up P15 for the race, the two-time world champion did everything he could to maximize the evening. The car definitely lacked a bit of pace but fortunately, he only had to defend T1 as it was the only overtaking opportunity for the whole race.

Lance, well, did a Lance thing. He collided with Albon in the opening few corners (T4) and received a 10-second time penalty. He served the penalty and then retired the car. If he was a bit decent, I think points were on the table.

6. Alpine Renault (10 points)

• Pierre Gasly (Started 11th, Finished 5th, 10 points)

• Esteban Ocon (Started 20th, DNF, 0 points)

Alpine is now leading the battle for P6 in the constructors with 59 points after the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix. They’ve scored 76% of those points in Brazil and Qatar combined. These one-off points hauls are like a punch in the guts to the Haas and Vcarb outfits.

After a disappointing race in Las Vegas last week, the Frenchies have redeemed themselves with a good chunk of points. Even though they are just five points away from the Haas, it is quite plausible that they will retain their P6 but anything can happen in Abu Dhabi, as history has already shown us.

7. Mercedes (12 points)

• George Russell (Started 1st, Finished 4th, 12 points)

• Lewis Hamilton (Started 6th, Finished 12th, 0 points)

Lewis literally can’t wait for this season to end and go to Ferrari. The car is trash, even if he pushes hard, he is fighting for nothing. Mercedes’s position in the constructor’s standings won’t change. So, his absolutely shit performance is self-explainable. 

He was fidgety from the start of the weekend and counted himself out from contention for the top positions. The false start, puncture from debris, and speeding in the pitlane didn’t help either. Overall, a weekend to forget for #TeamLH. All they can do now is be #grateful for every new day and every beautiful morning, just like the environmentalist who owns a private jet.

George Russell on the other hand, had a good showing. From his perspective, it would suck because he finished behind where he started. But the worst part is he pissed Max Verstappen off by being a whiny little bitch.

Here’s the rundown: the Brit had to take a wider line into a corner because Max was cooling his car. Because he missed the pole in the following run by 55 milliseconds. Hence, he ran to the stewards, the rumors suggested he went over with a PowerPoint presentation which got Max a 1-place grid penalty, and started from the pole for the race.

In the end, it didn’t matter as he lost the position going into T1. Then another position to Piastri in the next corner. I guess, karma is real. Additionally, picking a fight with Max, when you aren’t competing for anything substantial isn’t the best strategy going into 2025 where things can get really close. Just my $0.02.

8. McLaren Mercedes (17 points)

• Oscar Piastri (Started 4th, Finished 3rd, 15 points)

• Lando Norris (Started 3rd, Finished 10th, 2 points)

Good weekend for the Austrailian, a shit one for the Brit. 

The Woking outfit had a pretty decent weekend, all things considered. They outscore their championship rivals Ferrari by six points in the Sprint Race. So, even though they lost nine to them in the main race, the effective difference is three measly points.

Going into the final race, they will be leading the championship by 21 points. The commentators and media personnel are hyping the fuck out of this as if it is as close as the battle for P6, but to be honest, this was THE weekend that sealed the constructor’s title for the 2024 season.

Coming into the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix weekend, the Italians had to outscore McLaren by at least 12 points to keep the battle realistic going into the final race. With their current relative forms, it looks difficult for the Scuderia to close that 21-point gap in a non-Sprint Race weekend.

Anyway, coming into the performances, Oscar was a bit scruffy but managed to pull out a great performance because of the car’s pace and lack of overtaking opportunity around the Lusail International Circuit. Lando did a cool thing by giving Piastri the Sprint win and keeping the sportsmanship alive.

Speaking of the Briton’s race, he needs to realize that there are no friends in F1, especially if you want to win a championship. Max is playing mind games with Norris where he pretends to be his well-wisher off-track and telling him useless platitudes like “you will win a championship in the future if you stay patient” (paraphrased) right after winning his 4th title.

On the contrary, he is looking to fuck Lando at every opportunity he gets. 

Low-testosteroned Lando can’t see this and remains in a world of delusion where he looks at Max as his older brother who will cut an arm and a leg for him. I will talk about this dumbass in a different article.

9. Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT (25 points)

• Max Verstappen (Started 2nd, Finished 1st, 25 points)

• Sergio Pérez (Started 9th, DNF, 0 points)

Sergio’s abysmal performance doesn’t deserve keystrokes.

Verstappen shows that there are levels to this game. To be honest, I feel bad for Russell and Lando in the upcoming season as this man will teach them lessons the Brits aren’t ready for.

After being denied pole, he nailed the start as usual and continued to maintain a healthy lead. It never looked like he pulled away, but he wasn’t ever really under any threat. Of course, the clean air helped but he didn’t really put a foot wrong throughout the chaotic race, such as pushing flat-out through double-waved yellows.

Even in the safety car restarts, he was waving to warm his tire. In reality, he was doing the same to confuse Norris behind him and cover most of the track that way. This prevented Norris from getting a good read on Max for the restart which enabled the Dutchman to retain his lead.

Looking back to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis could have done that and should have aggressively defended the following few corners. It was perfectly doable, but when you are mentally defeated, it’s hard to execute.

10. Ferrari (26 points)

• Charles Leclerc (Started 5th, Finished 2nd, 18 points)

• Carlos Sainz (Started 7th, Finished 6th, 8 points)

I am happy for Charles (pronounced ‘Shaarl’) after the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix where he went on a rant for a full minute. Great content though. 

I am a bit sad that these guys will lose the constructor’s battle unless one of the McLaren DNFs in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and both Carlos and Charles score a good chunk of points while the other McLaren driver doesn’t get the win.

Conclusion: Only the P6 battle

Alpine vs Haas is the only battle left in the 2024 F1 season. My money is on the French outfit considering closing a five-point gap in one race when you are a midfield team in closely matched cars is difficult. Haas, like Ferrari, needs a miracle.

Other on-track actions to look for in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are Lawson vs Perez, Russell vs Verstappen, Lewis vs Mercedes, Williams drivers vs the barriers, Williams mechanics vs time, and Lance Stroll vs anyone around him (this is the wild card).

Thank you for reading.