We’ve reached the penultimate round of the 2024 Formula 1 season and it’s all eyes on the constructors’ championship after Max Verstappen sealed a fourth-consecutive drivers’ title in Las Vegas.
McLaren and Ferrari are set to go wheel-to-wheel for the team trophy, but the British outfit head to the Middle East with a 24-point advantage over their Italian rivals and they could get the job done this weekend.
Our tipster Alex Harris has gone through Paddy Power’s Qatar Grand Prix betting with a fine-tooth comb and picked out a few fancies.
F1 Tips
Sprint Race – Oscar Piastri (E/W)
Podium Finish – Charles Leclerc
Fastest Lap – Lando Norris
WHEN: Saturday, November 30 – 14:00 (Sprint)/Sunday, December 1 – 16:00 (Race)
WHERE: Lusail International Circuit
TV: Sky Sports F1
Sprint Race – Oscar Piastri (E/W)
It’s the final Sprint Weekend of the season and Oscar Piastri looks decent value to repeat last year’s success in the mini-race.
The cold temperatures experienced in Las Vegas will not be repeated in Qatar so Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton can probably be scrubbed from calculations, which leaves four other drivers – Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz – on the shortlist to take the chequered flag.
A look at last year’s Qatar Grand Prix suggests Piastri feels comfortable at the track as he converted pole position in the Sprint Shootout to victory in the Sprint and climbed from sixth on the grid to second in the Race.
We know the McLaren works well in warm weather so a strong weekend is to be expected from the Aussie, who will be eager to bounce back after a few disappointing rounds.
Podium Finish – Charles Leclerc
Ferrari will need to be on their a-game to keep pace with McLaren at the Lusail International Circuit, but Charles Leclerc looks overpriced to secure a Podium Finish.
Sure, the Monegasque’s record in the Qatar Grand Prix is underwhelming after finishing eighth in 2021 and fifth in 2023, but the SF-24 works better in hot conditions than most of the other cars on the grid.
It is his ultra-consistent record that makes appeal as he has stepped foot on the podium in 50 per cent of this season’s Grands Prix and has finished lower than fifth on just three occasions.
You can also expect Leclerc to have a bit of fire in his belly following his furious rant at the team in the wake of last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Fastest Lap – Lando Norris
I think I’ve made it quite clear that McLaren should have the quickest car in Qatar.
The weather conditions and track configuration will suit the MCL-38 down to the ground and both cars should be starting on the front couple of rows on the grid.
It wouldn’t be surprising if, free from the pressures of the drivers’ title battle, Lando Norris sails off into the distance and fires in Fastest Lap after Fastest Lap.
The danger would be if McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri or either Ferrari driver has a gap to stop and slap on a pair of soft tyres at the end to bag the bonus point for the constructors’ championship, but Norris has had the Fastest Lap at four of the last eight Grands Prix and that could become five from nine this weekend.
Qatar Grand Prix Tips
Sprint Race – Oscar Piastri (E/W)
Podium Finish – Charles Leclerc
Fastest Lap – Lando Norris
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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