2024 Qatar Grand Prix preview: timings, how to watch, and more

Hot topics ahead of the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

While Red Bull took both crowns in 2023, its defence of the constructors’ championship has been poor this season, in most part down to Sergio Pérez failing to pull his weight all season. The Mexican could only pick up one point in Las Vegas, adding to a grand total of seven points earned from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where McLaren took the lead of the standings and Red Bull have fallen backwards ever since.

Currently, McLaren holds a slender 24-point lead over chasing Ferrari. In Las Vegas, the Scuderia pair finished third and fourth, bettering the McLarens’ sixth and seventh places finishes, but not without visible tension within the team. Charles Leclerc fumed on the radio post-race, unhappy with strategy decisions which saw him overtaken by his team-mate, while Sainz himself was also disgruntled, after aborting a pit stop, which the team admitted it wasn’t ready for. So, there seems plenty for Ferrari to smooth over ahead of the penultimate race of the season, where effective teamwork will be vital if it is to pip McLaren to the title.  

A little further down the constructors’ standings, there is an even tighter battle over sixth place between Haas, Alpine and RB. Haas jumped ahead of Alpine by a solitary point following Nico Hülkenberg’s eighth place finish in Vegas, while a double retirement for Alpine rather squandered the double podium it picked up in Brazil, and Yuki Tsunoda’s ninth place finish in Vegas keeps RB in touching distance, just four points off sixth. In such a close contest, every point earned will make the difference in these final two races.

And there are extra points on offer in Qatar, courtesy of the final Sprint race of the season. This will be the second time Qatar has hosted a Sprint, after Oscar Piastri won last year, while Verstappen’s victory in the grand prix secured his third world championship in Qatar. The lengthy main straight of the Lusail International Circuit – it’s over a kilometre of the total length of the 5.4km track – means that there should be plenty of opportunities for overtaking during the grand prix as teams fight for a maximum points haul.

The other major story to emerge this week has been the agreement in principle for GM to enter F1 in 2026 with Cadillac, with GM intending to enter the sport as an engine supplier at a later date. This marks a shift in outlook from when an initial Andretti-led bid was rejected ten months ago, and will be the first time there’s more than ten teams on the grid since 2017.

When can I watch the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix?

Action in Lusail begins on Friday, with Free Practice 1, the only practice session of the weekend, at 13:30 UK time (16:30 local time), followed by Sprint Qualifying at 17:30 (20:30). The Sprint race takes place at 14:00 (17:00) on Saturday ahead of qualifying for the grand prix at 18:00 (121:00). Lights out for the Qatar Grand Prix is at 16:00 (19:00) on Sunday 1^st December.

How to watch the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix

Sky Sports retains exclusive rights to all live coverage of F1 in the UK. Every session of the Qatar Grand Prix will be shown live and uninterrupted on Sky Sports F1.

US viewers can catch all the action on ESPN, and Australian audiences can watch on Kayo Sports. The F1 TV Pro app also provides coverage of every F1 session across the weekend to several countries the world over.

Which series are supporting in Qatar?

Both Formula 2 and F1 Academy return to action this weekend for the final two races of the respective seasons. Abbi Pulling leads Doriane Pin by 95 points in the F1 Academy standings, while things are much narrower in F2. Gabriel Bortoleto, set to join Sauber in F1 in 2025, tops the championship with only a 4.5-point lead over Isack Hadjar.

Meanwhile, the Formula 3 season concluded back in Monza, with Leonardo Fornaroli dramatically securing the drivers’ championship ahead of Gabriele Minì.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.