Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, Sunday, 01.12.2024 at 17:00
When the first door of the Advent calendar is opened, the engines of the premier class will roar in Doha! The penultimate Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula 1 season is on the program. The world champion has already been decided!
Max Verstappen was able to save his lead to the finish line after all, after the mega race in Brazil he made everything clear with a fifth place in Las Vegas last week. Mercedes surprised everyone with a one-two victory ahead of the two Ferraris.
A week later in Doha we will find completely different conditions, from the cold night race in Nevada to the warm desert of Doha
To the drivers’ delight, it will not be as hot as last year, when the race was held at the beginning of October. The drivers complained of feeling unwell, ex-driver Logan Sargeant even had to park the Williams due to nausea. The GP is a tough battle for man and machine.
Unfortunately, my streak of nine correct Formula 1 tips is broken. Leclerc missed out on the podium, which I thought he would achieve, by just a few seconds.
In my Qatar GP betting tip, I’m now going for the Bwin bet that George Russell will finish ahead of Verstappen. Red Bull may have made all the changes after the disastrous sprint, but the Mercedes should clearly be the better car in the long run.
In addition, Verstappen will only start from second place behind Russell after his fastest time in qualifying due to a penalty.
Incidentally, Oscar Piastri won the sprint ahead of Lando Norris. The Briton gave his team-mate the win as a thank-you for waving him past in the sprint in Brazil.
In Las Vegas, Mercedes showed pure dominance. Russell drove unchallenged to victory and team-mate Lewis Hamilton easily moved up from tenth to second place. The performance really did come out of nowhere.
In the previous races, Mercedes was only fourth behind Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. Russell had previously gone four races without a podium, with a total of just two top three finishes in the last ten races.
Test: Starting grid for the Qatar GP
The World Championship is already over for Mercedes. In the constructors’ championship, McLaren and Ferrari are dueling for the title ahead of Red Bull. Mercedes is far behind, but at the same time has an enormous lead over Aston Martin.
Accordingly, the focus is already on next year. In the conditions of around eleven to 13 degrees Celsius during the race and the slippery asphalt, the Silver Bulls were able to cope best in the end. But now it’s back to a permanent race track from the street circuit
But Russell also feels comfortable in Qatar. He finished third in the sprint and was able to put a lot of pressure on Piastri. Mercedes seem to have found their consistency at the end of the season, at least Rusell has. Hamilton is only lagging behind in Doha.
At the Qatar GP, Russell (2.50), who starts from first place, is in front, followed by Norris (3.00) and Verstappen (3.50), followed by Piastri and the two Ferrari stars.
Ferrari are not coping well in the desert, were unable to match the pace in the sprint and also had no say in pole position in the main race qualifying. We are witnessing a preliminary decision in the Constructors’ World Championship in Qatar
Formula 1 raced in Qatar for the first time in 2021, when the circuit was still a stand-in in Corona times, but it has now been added to the race calendar as a permanent fixture in 2023. Hamilton won the first edition.
Back then, Hamilton, Verstappen and Fernando Alonso were three absolute legends of the sport on the podium; we only saw this trio spraying champagne together again in Canada and rose water in Qatar.
The last races on the Losail International Circuit:
While Hamilton and Verstappen were still in a close World Championship battle in 2021, Verstappen had an easy time in Doha in 2023. Red Bull had won all but one race in that season, including the Qatar GP.
However, the dominance has been over since the race in Miami at the latest. Nevertheless, the Dutchman has managed to become world champion for the fourth time – and ahead of schedule.
He is the first driver since Nelson Piquet in 1983 to win the title in the third-best team. Incidentally, the Red Bull superstar is in a relationship with his daughter Kelly.
In the first two editions of the Qatar GP, we have not seen 18 riders finish so far, which is why I am again targeting under 18.5 riders in the final classification, as in Las Vegas.
The track offers scope for exciting duels, especially the start phase and the first sector. What’s more, we’re coming to the end of the season and the racing teams are pushing their engine parts to the limit, as they no longer want to change them due to the threat of penalties.
A technical defect, especially in warmer temperatures, is more likely. For this market, the betting providers with a German license have odds of around 1.80 on offer.
Conclusion: Mercedes was able to record another one-two victory at the end of the season. After the race weekend, I initially chalked up the success in the cool conditions of Nevada to a one-day wonder.
But it also looks really good in Qatar, purely in terms of pace Russell was clearly the fastest driver alongside Norris in the sprint. According to Verstappen, the Red Bull was like a “rally car”, as it was just sliding around on the desert circuit. Red Bull did some fine-tuning between the sessions.
Will victory now come after pole? I don’t think so. Especially as he has received a penalty and has to swap places with Russell.
With the McLaren behind him, it will probably only go further back. The Austrian team didn’t have the opportunity to test the new setup with a long run. Yesterday as fast as a Haas and today ahead of Russell and the McLaren? Never!
That’s why my Qatar GP betting tip is: Russell ahead of Verstappen
