The end of a Formula One season couldn’t have been scripted better. Lando Norris finishes second in the Las Vegas Grand Prix behind title rival Max Verstappen then he and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri are excluded from the results due to a technical infringement. With two Grand Prix and a Sprint race remaining, Norris has a 24-point lead over Pisatri and Verstappen who are now second equal.
Now we move to the Qatar Grand Prix which also hosts a Sprint race. While the focus for many will be on the overall driver’s title fight, Kiwi fans will be following Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Liam Lawson and teammate Isack Hadjar. While their focus will be maintaining their team in sixth place in the Constructor’s Championship, there is still the confirmation of who will be the drivers in both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, which will now take place after this weekend’s race.
“It feels incredible to be finishing the season with night races, which are my favourite, and I’m excited to be heading to a very high speed track here in Qatar,” said Lawson. “The mandatory pit stops this weekend make the race more interesting, meaning our strategy will be more important than ever.
“It’s the last Sprint weekend of the season too, so there’s more opportunity for points as we fight for our position in the Constructors’. We’ll be taking our learnings from Las Vegas to bring everything together this weekend.”
“The second leg of this triple-header takes us to the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, and with it, we are dealt some very different challenges to Vegas,” said Tim Goss, Racing Bulls Chief Technical Officer. “This circuit is relatively smooth and flat, meaning that our engineers can concentrate on keeping the VCARB 02’s setup in a window to deliver optimal load through the circuits high content of medium and high-speed corners.
“The severity of the circuit means that Pirelli bring the hardest compounds in the range, the C1, C2 and C3. On top of that there is a mandated maximum stint length of 25 laps. Put all this together with the Sprint weekend format with two Qualifying sessions, two races, the heat and it has the recipe to be very demanding on the team and the drivers.
“The car works well across a range of circuit characteristics so we will focus on our preparations to hit the ground running with a good starting set up and build from there. It remains tight in the Constructors’ Championship battle, and we remain confident a good points finish is there for the taking.”
The Sprint Race takes place Sunday morning at 3:00am NZ time with the Grand Prix on Monday morning 5:00am NZ time.
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