2025 Qatar Grand Prix - Lusail, Nov 28 - 30

[Henk_v]

Could piastri also bottle it if he has a worse start than Norris? Max starts on the clean and it is very likely MCL will forbid any wheel to wheel action in T1 between teammates, forcing Norris to lift. That would leave norris vulberable for an outside pass T1/insideT2 by verstappen

[Badger]

What do Oscar and Max have to lose? Very little and Nothing respectively.
For Oscar the only goal is to stay ahead of Lando. If he does that he has a chance. Otherwise his title is over.
For Max, the only goal is to try to stay ahead of Lando but he drives a much worse car - so it's even less in his hands so he has even less to lose.
All in all, Lando is the only person who has anything at all to lose.

It might be a boring finish but if Lando doesn't at least get P3 tomorrow, it can become pretty tense for him at Abu Dhabi.

The most rational thing for Norris to do is just drive, with no risk, behind Piastri. And if Verstappen has good speed, just let him go and make sure to finish P3. That way, he can do the exact same thing in AD and will be certain of the WDCC.

But, I think Norris is not going to do that, he is going to do the irrational and will fight Piastri and/or Verstappen, because he thinks he needs to show everyone he can win these races. And that will be, potentially, his biggest challenge. I think he will bottle it, by doing that.

Norris’s drive in the sprint appeared very rational. Bottom line is avoiding a DNF today, but even that still leaves everything open in Abu Dhabi.

Of course he’ll want to win the races, but he’ll be well aware he doesn’t need to.

You can still try to win whilst taking almost no risk. You simply avoid wheel to wheel battles and try to rely on a good start, strategy, and great pace. McLaren having the best car it would be quite easy for Norris to do that.

[Vettel165]

I dont care anymore lets make a prediction.

My heart 1.Max 2.Oscar 3.Lando 4.Russel 5.Kimi.
My head 1.Oscar 2.Max 3.Lando 4.Russel 5.Kimi.

And we have the third option, Red Bull (Max) and one Mclaren driver (Probably Lando) crash into each other. Or two Mclaren drivers crash into each other...

[woocasz]

I dont care anymore lets make a prediction.

My heart 1.Max 2.Oscar 3.Lando 4.Russel 5.Kimi.
My head 1.Oscar 2.Max 3.Lando 4.Russel 5.Kimi.

And we have the third option, Red Bull (Max) and one Mclaren driver (Probably Lando) crash into each other. Or two Mclaren drivers crash into each other...

What we need is: Max to crash Lando, and then Oscar will return to the lead.

[Henk_v]

What we need is lando to crah himself and have a battle of 3 in Abu Dhabi.

[f1isgood]

It's going to be a very anticlimatic race with Lando crowned WDC.

[Paa]

Any idea how much is the pace delta needed to execute a DRS pass (when all are at similar DF levels) ? Any stat from 2024 ?

I think this is not primarily about pace delta, but rather how close can you be coming out from the last corner.
In the sprint there were few laps when Max started like 0.75s behind Norris and he could not even attack, so I assume You should be like 0.6s or even closer coming out from the last corner, which is extremely hard given the nature of that turn.
Basically you need the front car to make a mistake or have much fresher tyre.

[Vettel165]

Lets wait for the fat lady to sings it first. Its not over until the very last lap, but that ending is near. I dont believe in a miracle anymore for Max, I gave up already after the Hungary, Dutch GP. Now everything that comes is a bonus for me.

[Zynerji]

This race should have unlimited DRS to entice mistakes as there are no real passing zones. Its going to be full-snore, and I'll be waiting to watch the Race in 30 on F1TV instead of the full bore-fest.

[Mogster]

It's going to be a very anticlimatic race with Lando crowned WDC.

I doubt it. Piastri seems very dialed in here.

[f1isgood]

It's going to be a very anticlimatic race with Lando crowned WDC.

I doubt it. Piastri seems very dialed in here.

Lando will undercut Piastri and win if he doesn't lead into Turn 1.

[search]

It's going to be a very anticlimatic race with Lando crowned WDC.

I doubt it. Piastri seems very dialed in here.

Lando will undercut Piastri and win if he doesn't lead into Turn 1.

...only to give back the position afterwards?

[pantherxxx]

Norris and Piastri will take each other out, and Verstappen will cruise to victory.

[astracrazy]

It's going to be a very anticlimatic race with Lando crowned WDC.

I don't think Lando will be crowned here, but I do see a boring race.

The only thing that gives me hope is the tyres. The forced two stop and drivers stuck in traffic, perhaps if the gravel starts causing problems too. We need some Pirelli melt down like we had 10+ years ago.

[FittingMechanics]

Palmer is convinced they will run softs at the start. I am not sure why he is that convinced? I'd fully expect medium medium hard or medium hard medium.