A night race in the desert. F1 returned to Qatar for the first time in two years. After dominating his team-mate in qualifying and securing the drivers’ title on Saturday, Verstappen also led the race from start to finish on Sunday, completing a perfect weekend.
This race also revealed the challenges that F1 have. Tyre issues and health problems for the drivers due to the harsh conditions was controversial throughout the weekend. In this article, we will look back at some of the important points using data.
1. Verstappen, one-fourteenth of Piastri
Verstappen, who easily took pole position in qualifying, a bit helped by some self-destruction by the McLaren drivers, was impressive in his careful steering control in the difficult conditions, as if he was driving in wet conditions.
Verstappen was one-fourteenth of Piastri in the race. What does that mean? It means the number of laps he seemed to push. Fig.1 shows the race pace of Verstappen and Piastri.
Due to the limit on the number of laps on the same tyres, there was no need for tyre management, and Piastri said he was always driving flat out as if he was in qualifying.
On the other hand, Verstappen’s graph is astonishing. He only pushed on lap 16 at the end of his first stint, and laps 32 and 33 at the end of his second stint. Speaking accurately, looking at the sector times, he was also fast on lap 34, his in-lap, but that still means he only pushed for four laps, and the rest of the time he was controlling the pace while looking behind him. And the difference between the laps he pushed and the others is shocking, as he gained a second when he sped up.
The next USGP venue, Austin, has a similar layout to Suzuka and Qatar, with a high-speed S-section and a long straight. The bumpy surface is a bit of a concern for Red Bull, but even taking that into account, they are expected to have a lot of competitiveness.
2. Conditions beyond the limit
The F1 Qatar GP saw several drivers suffer from health problems due to the harsh conditions. The desert heat, with temperatures above 30 degrees and humidity close to 80%, took its toll on the drivers.
In addition to Sargeant, who retired from the race, several others were in serious condition, and many other drivers admitted that it was a very tough race.
First of all, the health of the drivers themselves is the biggest issue. And that also has a negative impact on the sport. Severe heatstroke can lead to a decline in brain function. And that can be not only temporary but also semi-permanent. Is a race with drivers whose brain function is impaired what F1 should be? There are not many options for answering this question.
In addition, there are also indirect safety issues caused by drivers losing consciousness or fainting during the race. In fact, Stroll said he had passed out. This poses a potential danger not only to himself but also to other drivers, marshals and spectators.
F1 is a sport where drivers push their physical and mental limits to the maximum, but that should be done under safe conditions. The Qatar GP was a race that questioned whether F1 could guarantee those conditions.
The FIA said it would take measures to prevent this from happening again. Next year’s Qatar GP is scheduled to take place in December (November 29-December 1, 2024), after the hot season is over. However, it is unclear whether this will be enough for the drivers and teams, and in its statement it mentioned possible measures such as improving air flow in the cockpit and changing the timing of the event.
On the other hand, in recent years we have been experiencing extreme weather events around the world, and there is a possibility that dangerous races could occur in other regions as well. Even if we optimize the timing of the event and improve air flow in the cockpit, that alone may not be enough to ensure driver health and safety.
I would like to propose introducing a standard such as ‘cockpit heat index’. This takes into account not only the general ‘Wet Bulb Globe Temperature’ but also factors specific to F1 car cockpits such as track surface temperature and engine heat. If this standard exceeds a predetermined threshold, the drivers would take a break once or twice during the race to recover their condition. In an era where temperatures above 45 degrees are commonplace, we may have to accept that F1 will have to change as well.
Of course, we need to adjust the details to avoid compromising the sportiness and entertainment value of the race, but I think it is worth considering as one direction.
3. Is it right or wrong to decide the driver’s champion on Saturday?
This time, the title was decided on the sprint race on Saturday.
When there was a proposal to give points for pole position in qualifying, it was scrapped to avoid the possibility of the title being decided on Saturday. However, the recent sprint race format, which gives points, contradicts that decision.
Perhaps it was judged that the benefits of having a sprint race outweighed the drawbacks, but it was a bit missing something as there was no fantastic podium ceremony after the title was decided.
There are some ways to avoid this, and what I propose is that ‘the points earned in the sprint race are only valid if you finish in the top 10 in the main race. The current point for the fastest lap is only valid if you finish in the top 10. By treating it the same way, we can avoid deciding the title on Saturday.
There are other ways, such as not having a sprint race in the final stages of the season when there is a possibility of a title decision, but there will be tracks where we’d better have a sprint race in the final stages. I think the most realistic option is to make the points confirmed on Sunday, as I suggested above.
4. Could tyre usage limitation be a hint for overtaking promotion?
This time, there were concerns about tyre safety after free practice, and a special rule was applied in the final race that even new tyres could only be driven for a maximum of 18 laps.
When we actually raced, there was one interesting point. That was that each driver did not have to think about extending tyre life and drove flat out throughout the race. I wonder if this could be a hint for increasing overtaking in recent years.
The first idea I had for overtaking promotion was to improve safety in the pit lane. By increasing the speed limit in the pit lane, we can reduce the pit stop loss time and make it easier to do multi-stops.
No matter how much we promote overtaking by aerodynamic characteristics and so on, it is basically very difficult to overtake without a tyre difference. Therefore, the idea is to reduce the pit loss in races that are likely to be one-stop and make it easier to do two-stops and promote overtaking could have some positive side.
If we push hard like this time, tyre degradation will be bigger. Then the difference of one lap of tyre history will have a greater effect on pace difference. Therefore, it may become possible to overtake where before we needed an offset of 10 laps, but now we can do it with a difference of 5 laps.
Since I felt a bit boring about this race, it may not work if we introduce this regulation as it is, but it certainly gave us some hint when thinking about overtaking promotion from a strategic point of view.
5. Conclusion
The Qatar GP was a race where Verstappen won the drivers’ title brilliantly, but it was also a race that left many implications and points to improve for F1. The GP was a memorable race in F1 history, but at the same time it was also a race that made us think about what F1 should be. I look forward to seeing how F1 will carve out its future in these turbulent times.
Writer: Takumi