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With 22 circuits, there can be a lot to take in, so we’ve organised for you to join us in Lando and Oscar’s engineering briefings, where we’ll walk you through this weekend’s key trackside topics so that you can enjoy the Qatar Grand Prix to its fullest.

The Lusail International Circuit isn’t quite a new track for the team, but it might as well be. We’ve only been to Qatar once before, and that was with the previous generation of cars in 2021, making this Lando’s second trip and Oscar’s first – not that it stopped the Australian from performing on his debut in Japan.

Additionally, the pit-lane has been moved, and the track surfaced re-laid, meaning we really don’t know a huge amount about the circuit, and with this being an F1 Sprint weekend, we’ll not get much chance to practice on it either.

The team have been working hard back at the MTC over the last week and a half to best prepare themselves, and Cédric Michel-Grosjean is ready to lead this weekend’s engineering briefing, in partnership with Google Chrome, where he’ll explain all of the above and how we’ll be tackling those challenges.

It’s time to begin. Grab a coffee and follow us through the glass doors and into the Paddock Performance Centre. Take notes if you need them, but please keep them to yourself.

Engineer: Cédric Michel-Grosjean
Event: Qatar Grand Prix
Circuit: Lusail International Circuit

Impact of the F1 Sprint

The phrase everyone is using for this weekend at Lusail is ‘challenging’. In short order, we have a Sprint-event timetable, our first night-time Sprint, a big separation between day and night track temperatures, and an entirely new surface. In terms of preparation, it is far from ideal.

That said, we’re looking at this more as an opportunity than as a problem. The circuit should suit the MCL60, so we’ve got two opportunities to score heavily… but doing a good job in this single practice session is critical to that.

Why a new track surface is so relevant

The factor that most has our attention is the new track surface. Throughout our preparation, it’s been the big unknown. We don’t know if it’s bumpy or smooth, we don’t know how much grip it has, we don’t know how the tyres will behave, we don’t know how steep the new kerbs are and what damage they might potentially do to the car. It throws a lot of things into the mix.

We can, of course, make assumptions. We can assume that the track is probably quite smooth, and that the grip level is going to be very poor on a hot track in daytime. We can assume that it’s going to be very dusty at the start of the weekend – not just because we’re in a desert but also because of the construction work that’s only recently been completed… but we’ll only get real answers out on track.

The smoothness of the new tarmac is particularly interesting because until we know this, we don’t know how low and how stiff we can run the car. Through the session, we’ll be playing the normal game of ride-height optimisation – but it’s tricky with only one session before we have to lock-in the set-up for qualifying, the Sprint Shootout, the Sprint and the race. This is always a tricky thing, even at tracks we know well. On a ‘new’ track, it’s even more challenging.

Deciding between different rear-wing configurations

At this point in the season, any upgrades are going to be small items. We have nothing here, but the two cars will be testing different rear-wing configurations. They’ll have the same main rear wings – the high downforce wing introduced in Zandvoort – but will run different beam wing configurations, to give us a good spread of data before we make our final decisions.

How the new pit-lane will affect strategy decisions

While the track layout hasn’t changed, the pit-lane, specifically the pit-entry, has. In 2021, it was before the final corner, and now it comes after. Ideally, we’d do pit-stops to figure out precisely what the pit-loss is – but it’s difficult to fit that into a single practice session. The grid launch procedures at the end of the hour might provide an opportunity, but otherwise, it’s very tricky, and we may have to rely on estimates, having the drivers attack their in-laps.

Selecting which tyres to use

The big question, as at all of these Sprint events, is whether to run a Soft tyre during the practice session. The allocation for Sprints is different, with six Softs, four Mediums and two Hards. You can only run Softs in qualifying, and Softs in SQ3 of the Sprint Shootout. You may also want a new Soft for the Sprint itself… and you can’t have everything!

The drivers may well want to use a Soft in FP1. Neither driver has driven here in this generation of car. On the other hand, we have a competitive car, and would be hoping to get into the final parts of both qualifying sessions. As with many things this weekend, it’s a difficult decision to make, with not a lot of time to make it!

Briefing complete. Time for Lando and Oscar to head out onto the track and put our hard work to the test.