© Red Bull Content Pool6 Things You Need To Know About QatarF1 is off to Qatar and the Losail International Circuit. In many ways this is a voyage into the unknown…
Thereisalwaysanextralevelofexcitementand/ortrepidation,whenF1goestoanewvenue,whetherthat’sabrand-newcircuit,aswillbethecaseinJeddahtwoweeksfromnow,orsomewherethatwesimplyhaven’tvisitedbefore,asisthecasewiththisweek’svisittoLosailfortheinauguralQatarGrandPrix.
We’ve been able to drive Losail on the simulator, and everyone at the team has watched plenty of MotoGP – but it’s not quite the same thing as experiencing it for real. Every lap we do in Qatar is going to be improving our knowledge of the circuit, but here’s a few things we do already know…
Losail is the 74th venue to host an FIA Formula One World Championship grand prix. It follows Mugello (72) and Portimão (73), which were hustled onto last year’s calendar at short notice.
It’s going to hold the title of ‘newest F1 circuit’ for the shortest amount of time possible, with Jeddah’s Corniche Circuit taking over next week for the inaugural Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
The Qatar Grand Prix is the 51st race name to be used in the World Championship, and Qatar is the 33rd country to host a round.
The Downtown Doha City Skyline At Sunset© Deejpilot
…and won. A teenage Sergio Pérez-Mendoza contested the 2008-2009 GP2 Asia series which consisted of 12 rounds spread across six events. Rounds seven and eight took place at Losail on February 13th and 14th 2009.
Checo finished P2 (to Nico Hülkenberg) in the round seven feature race and won the round eight sprint, while also taking fastest lap. He’s the only driver in the current F1 field to have contested a race at Losail.
Sergio Finishes P2 In GP2 Asia Series© Sergio Perez
TwoWheelsGood…FourWheels…Different
While the track is primarily known for its bike racing, it has hosted plenty of four-wheel action also.
As well as GP2 Asia, the World Touring Car Championship visited in 2015-2017, the Speedcar Series visited in 2009 with former Red Bull Racing driver (and F1 steward last week in Brazil) Tonio Liuzzi winning a round.
Before any of this, the short-lived but powerful GP Masters Series paid a visit to Losail in 2006, with the race being won by 1992 F1 World Champion Nigel Mansell.
Two Wheels Flat Out In Qatar© Red Bull Content Pool
Francesco Bagnaia holds the two-wheel lap record at Losail, with a lap of 1:54.491 set earlier this year during April’s Doha Grand Prix MotoGP round. However, the ultimate lap record goes back to 2009’s GP2 race, with Davide Rigon’s 1:38.699 setting the benchmark.
This weekend F1 should reset the lap record below 1m30s. Given how many corners will be flat in qualifying and require a lift in race trim, it’s likely there will be a larger disparity than usual between quali and race – perhaps around seven seconds, dependent on track temperature and the state of the surface.
MotoGP In Qatar© Red Bull Content Pool
Losail opened in 2004, but went electric in 2007 with the addition of circuit lighting. It’s been hosting MotoGP in the evenings since 2008 and will be one of four races this season – along with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi – to race under lights.
Sunset on Sunday is 16:44, with the race starting at 17:00. This is similar to the arrangement in Bahrain, where the race begins at sunset, but different to the day/night format at Yas Marina where the race begins in late afternoon sunshine, with the lights taking hold gradually as the race progresses.
It is different also to the plan for Jeddah, which will have the race start approximately three hours after sunset, similar to the Singapore Grand Prix. The significance is that the circuits experience a very different track temperature gradient as the evening goes on, with the balance of the car moving from oversteer to understeer as the tarmac cools.
Racing Under The Lights In Qatar© Red Bull Content Pool
In terms of track characteristics, Losail has hints of Zandvoort, the Hungaroring and Istanbul Park, but the recent F1 venue it most resembles is probably Mugello.
While the Qatari circuit doesn’t have the camber (it’s a very, very flat track) it does have the continuous run of corners, one blending into the next like the Tuscan track. Apart from the kilometre-long main straight and single DRS zone, most of the lap is spent rolling from left to right, right to left through sequences of – mostly high-speed – turns.
The signature corner is expected to be turns 12, 13, 14 which, with F1 levels of downforce, become one, long triple-apex turn in qualifying trim, reminiscent of Istanbul’s turn eight – albeit going in the other direction. It’s going to be very tough on the tyres…
Taking The Corner On Two Wheels© Red Bull Content Pool
