Lando Norris, McLaren

Will Piastri finally bounce back? – Oleg Karpov

It’s been a challenging couple of months for Oscar Piastri. The Australian, who looked like a driver with almost no weaknesses for most of this year’s campaign, has suddenly fallen from the top of the championship standings. Several mistakes – including errors in both qualifying and the race in Baku, plus another in the Sao Paulo sprint – combined with difficult weekends at some tracks, led to him losing the lead in Mexico. He then slipped further behind in Brazil and would have been 30 points adrift of Lando Norris had McLaren passed post-race inspection in Las Vegas.

Ironically, the Vegas disqualification even worked in Piastri’s favour. Yes, he is now level on points with Max Verstappen – but the weekend in Sin City marked the first time Piastri did not lose ground to Norris since… Zandvoort!

Qatar may offer Piastri a chance to finally reverse the trend. Lusail was the venue of his first F1 victory, after all, even if it came in the sprint. Can he rebuild his confidence this weekend?

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Mercedes close to securing P2 in constructors – Oleg Karpov

The battle for second place in the constructors’ championship could be decided in Qatar. McLaren’s disqualification handed Mercedes a double podium in Las Vegas, delivering a significant haul of points.

Toto Wolff’s team now looks close to locking down P2, with its main rivals struggling to mount consistent challenges. Even though Red Bull has won four races since the summer break, it remains effectively a one-car operation, with Yuki Tsunoda unable to find the speed or consistency when it matters. And Ferrari… well, their recent form speaks for itself. So, no need to talk a lot more about it.

In Qatar, Mercedes only needs to outscore Red Bull by four points – assuming Ferrari does nothing extraordinary either – for the team to secure second place and end the season on a positive note. Adding to Wolff’s optimism is Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s recent form: the Italian has finally started to show his potential, taking two consecutive podiums. Can he extend that streak this weekend in Qatar?

George Russell, Mercedes

Concerns about stint limit may be premature – Ed Hardy

Whatever happens this weekend, the grand prix will still be a unique one because Pirelli has enforced a 25-lap limit per stint, which effectively forces teams into a two-stop strategy for the 57-tour race.

There are concerns that this is limiting strategic options, Sauber boss Jonathan Wheatley claimed “it’s just going to be a bit of a procession” – but is it really? Pirelli’s motorsport director Mario Isola was right to point out that teams aren’t forced to pit on the 24th lap and there’s still enough room for flexibility, as Las Vegas showed.

George Russell pitted on lap 17, Lando Norris was lap 22 and Max Verstappen was two tours later and the fight amongst the top three was still engaging enough. Who knows what can happen at race start as well? One of the frontrunners may be forced into an early stop and thus attempt a different strategy to others. So, there’s no harm in imposing something new, especially if there are concerns over tyre wear around the track.