the Sprint weekend in Qatar is ahead of us and it seems like there are some massive changes on the circuit that might suit some of the cars that struggled massively here last year considering that it's yet another night race in the desert the temperatures will play a huge role in how the teams will set up their cars and after the last year's Tire temperature and the mandatory pit stops included will we see problems after the latest changes for 2024 it's safe to say that katar is one of of the most controversial races on the grid
mostly because of the new abrasive tarmac as well as the presence of the pyramid curbs but the latter one won't be an issue anymore for the drivers last year the damage that these curbs caused to the car's tires was massive and that is why the FIA consulted with pelli and decided to make a change for this year's circuit restructuring the missano type curbs that are homologated by both the FIA and the fim when talking about it the FIA wrote an official statement regarding the change of these curbs stating it was agreed with the circuit to
grind down the peak and sharp trailing edges of the Masano style curbs at several turns in order to reduce the risk of sidewall damage when a car runs wide and rejoins from the direction of the runoff area the modification was made in agreement with formula one and pelli was also notified the big problem with the Masano curves was the fact that there were microscopic separations in the tire sidewalls which were caused by prolonged high-speed contact with the curbs 50 mm raised borders Mario Isola from pelli has also spoken about this problem further adding it's not
just the geometry of the curbs because these curbs are used in many other circuits it's the time and the speed they stay on the curbs that are important Therefore several sections in katar have been changed such as the ones in Turn 4 10 as well as the combination of turn 124 to further prevent issues on the track the organizers have added gravel strips behind the curbs to discourage drivers from pushing the track limits extensively which is a massive issue not just here in Qatar but on the other tracks like Austria as well what these changes
are aiming for is to stop the mandatory pit stop that was introduced last year due to the massive Tire issues where both plli and the FIA agreed that in those circumstances driving more than 18 laps was way too dangerous leading to a three-stop race to ensure safety of course the temperatures are a bit different now and while many are experiencing that the combination of night and desert will provide cold temperatures like the ones in Las Vegas the situation is a bit different here in the Middle East while we are racing in the desert the temperatures
should vary around 20° C and due to the new asphalt that has been put on this circuit back in 2021 we should be looking at higher temperatures of the tarmac itself it's darker because it's fresher than the rest of the grid and that means that it absorbs most of the heat during the day so there might be a situation in which the temperatures on the track will be similar to the traditional ones despite the colder temperatures at night plus if we to compare this circuit to the rest of the calendar we should note one big
difference especially with the Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi ones who are also driven under the flashlight the katar GP has a huge huge number of high-speed Corners this means that the lateral lows of the tires will be experienced for a longer period of time and a greater amount as well circulating around 5 to 6 G forces therefore if a car struggles with keeping the temperatures in the right operating window the race pace is going to be disastrous and this goes even without the pyramid curbs that have been tweaked for this year Toto wolf is adamant
that the conditions in katar should be great for his driver and when talking about the w5's chances of scoring high here in the desert the Austrian went on to say the races in Vegas and katar couldn't be more different the lale international circuit has many high-speed sections and few if any big breaking zones despite going there later than last year it will still be very warm that is in contrast to the cool conditions and many slows speed sections of Las Vegas nevertheless we're aiming for another strong showing this week weekend the W5 has looked more
at home at circuits with lots of high-speed Corners such as Silverstone or Spa we certainly benefited from the Nighttime Cold in Las Vegas but the layout in Qatar should be more favorable to the strengths of our car we know our competitors will be stronger than they were last weekend but we will be aiming to get the car in a good window once again and be in the fight at the front of course these conditions should be favoring Mercedes who are parting ways with Hamilton at the end of this season in what is poised to be
one of the most emotional races of the year because at the same race three years ago the Brit infamously lost the eighth record-breaking championship in the last lap but for that we will have to wait one more weekend and right now we have katar who along with the Sprint format should present a massive challenge for the drivers and a big opportunity for the lower bracket teams to grab some valuable points on the go the fight in the Midfield is all but over with h and racing bll both scoring points in Vegas while Alpine failed to
do so and the Sprint race will be a perfect opportunity to build up on the momentum and make sure to grab as much of the cash prize as possible which will be pivotal for the next year's development the tarmac in Catal however is what draws the most attention because there isn't much cloud cover and it has low albo which means that solar radiation is very effective on asphalt there have been interesting situations where Road surface temperatures can rise up to 30° C despite the ambient temperature being around 7° C plus what we must not forget
is the humidity Factor during the day high humidity will lower the peak surface temperatures through a process called evaporated cooling therefore more energy is used to heat the water content in the air opposed to the one that is trapped in the road surface but at night time this will create an isolation effect and now that the air holds more heat it slows the rate at which the surface releases the heat into the air for those of you who wonder how the humidity levels can be so high in the desert it's because the Lal circuit is
very proximate to sea level so to conclude it all if a certain team fails to keep the tire temperatures at an optimal working temperature they would have to enter the pit stop more frequently and further lose time on the track which could be crucial in the battle of the constructors where only two teams are secured in their places Mercedes and ason Martin of course salba is also here but we barely talk about their chances of scoring points as they are now heavily focused on 2026 and the Audi takeover there will be some other interesting situations
that we'll be looking out for in Qatar such as the situation between the Ferrari drivers after the Las Vegas GP the tension is extremely high between lir and SS and the monagas driver has given his team a message that he won't think about the team anymore and will be selfish from now on which should suggest some heavy battles between these two if they are competitive in katar of course the Tad colder temperatures kind of provide a bit of disbalanced circumstances for the sf24 to fight for the win as McLaren and Mercedes are optimistic regarding the
combination of highspeed corners and the weather forecast but be that as it may the situation between the two Ferrari drivers could escalate further even if they are fighting for one point they have cut down the lead to McLaren in the constructor's championship to just 24 points but what is also very interesting is that llaa is now in a fight with Norris for P2 in the drivers category as well which is why racing with signs in Vegas was very aggravating for him as he couldn't have taken down more points from the Brit in this category only
21 points separate these two and anything can happen in the last two races especially given the fact that Qatar is a Sprint weekend so with all this in mind you think that the changes on the Lowel circuit will be beneficial for the F1 grid and if so which team do you think will prevail in these circumstances let us know in the comments below and if you want to know more about Ricardo's potential comeback to the sports with Cadillac make sure to check out the video that's appearing on your screen right now
