Lusail Circuit first joined the F1 calendar in 2021 and hosted the Qatar Grand Prix for the second time in 2023. Here are all the facts and stats you need to know about the track ahead of the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix weekend!
Track length: 5.419km
Race length: 308.611km
Laps: 57
Turns: 16
Circuit opened: 2004
F1 first visited: 2021
Races held: 2
Track Record: 1:20.827, Lewis Hamilton, Q3, 2021
Lap Record: 1:23.196, Max Verstappen, 2021
RACE WINNERS AT THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
The Qatar Grand Prix joined the Formula 1 calendar for the first time in 2021. It did not appear on the calendar in 2022 due to the country hosting the FIFA World Cup. Lusail Circuit returned in 2023 as part of a 10-year deal.
The two races here to date have had two different winners. Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen won in 2023.
Hamilton and Verstappen’s wins mean that Mercedes and Red Bull are tied as the teams with the most wins at the track, while Britain and the Netherlands are tied as the nations with the most wins.
There’s yet to be a back-to-back winner at the Qatar Grand Prix.
At the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen became the first driver to record a Grand Slam at Lusail Circuit. He took pole, led every lap and set the fastest lap on his way to winning the race.
No team has recorded a 1-2 finish yet at this track. McLaren are the only team to finish with both cars on the podium at Lusail Circuit. They did so in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, where Oscar Piastri finished second and Lando Norris was third.
The largest win margin to date in Qatar came in 2021, when Lewis Hamilton won by 25.743 seconds. The smallest win margin here is 4.833 seconds, which is the margin by which Max Verstappen won in 2023.
The average win margin so far at the Qatar Grand Prix is 15.288 seconds.
ON THE PODIUM
Five different drivers have finished on the podium in the two races held to date in Qatar.
Max Verstappen is the only driver to record two podium finishes at the Qatar Grand Prix.
All five of the previous Qatar Grand Prix podium finishers are on the 2024 grid. Max Verstappen is the only driver with multiple podium finishes at Lusail Circuit, while Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris each have a single top three finish at the track.
READ MORE: F1 Driver Form – Qatar Grand Prix
Red Bull and McLaren are the teams with the most Qatar Grand Prix podiums
Red Bull and McLaren are tied as the teams with the most podium finishes at the Qatar Grand Prix. They are the only teams who’ve recorded multiple top three finishes here. Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull in 2021 and won with the team in 2023. Both McLaren drivers finished on the podium in 2023.
The Netherlands and Britain are tied for most podiums
The Netherlands and Britain have the most podium finishes at the Qatar Grand Prix. Max Verstappen has recorded both of the podium results for Dutch drivers, while Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have brought home two podiums for Britain.
Spain and Australia are the only other nations with podium finishes at the track.
QATAR GRAND PRIX POLESITTERS
There’s yet to be a repeat Qatar Grand Prix polesitter. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have taken a single pole each at the track.
Hamilton and Verstappen’s poles mean Mercedes and Red Bull are tied as the teams with the most poles in Qatar, while Britain and the Netherlands are tied for most poles at the track.
There’s yet to be a front row lock-out in Qatar
Neither Mercedes nor Red Bull locked out the front row when they took pole for the Qatar Grand Prix. Mercedes have come closest to doing so, setting the first and third fastest times in Q3 at Lusail Circuit.
The average pole margin in Qatar is 0.448 seconds
The two pole positions in Qatar have been decided by similar margins.
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the largest pole margin at the Qatar Grand Prix, having taken pole by 0.455 seconds for the inaugural 2021 race.
The smallest pole margin here belongs to Max Verstappen, who secured the front spot by 0.441 seconds in 2023.
SATURDAY TO SUNDAY
Both Lusail races have been won from pole
Both races to date at Lusail Circuit have been won by the polesitter. In fact, the polesitter has led every lap of both Qatar races so far.
There’s yet to be a Grand Prix in Qatar in which the polesitter has not led at the end of Lap 1.
Three podium finishes from outside the top three on the grid
The two wins for the polesitter and Fernando Alonso’s third place finish from third on the grid in 2021 are the only podium finishes from inside the top three grid so far at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The furthest back podium finish at the Qatar Grand Prix to date came from 10th on the grid. That’s where Lando Norris started when he finished third in 2023. Other podiums have come from sixth and seventh.
There’s yet to be a race here in which the top three on the grid finished in the same order as they started.
READ MORE: Grid Slot Statistics – Qatar Grand Prix
SUNDAY STATISTICS
114 Grand Prix laps have been raced to date at Lusail Circuit.
Six drivers have completed all 57 laps of both races in Qatar so far: Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Alpine and Red Bull are the only teams who’ve seen both of their cars complete every Grand Prix racing lap to date in both Lusail races.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen share the record for most laps led in Qatar, having each led 57 laps at the circuit. They are the only drivers to have led a Grand Prix at the track.
The Safety Car made its first appearance here in 2023. The Virtual Safety Car had already made an appearance in 2021. In addition, there were two Safety Car deployments during the Sprint at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
There’s yet to be a red-flagged Qatar Grand Prix, nor has there been a race at Lusail Circuit which failed to reach its full distance.
Unsurprisingly, there have been no rain-affected sessions to date in Qatar.
The shortest race to date at the track is the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, which was won in a time of one hour and 24 minutes. The 2023 race was just over three minutes longer.
Max Verstappen has set the fastest lap in both races to date at the circuit.
Two different drivers have been voted Driver Of The Day so far at the Qatar Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso won the vote in 2021, while Oscar Piastri won in 2023.
The overall finish rate so far at the Qatar Grand Prix is 87.5%
Of the 40 cars which have entered races here, 35 have finished. That gives an overall finish rate of 87.5%.
The highest number of finishers at the Qatar Grand Prix is 18, which is how many drivers finished in 2021. 17 drivers finished the race in 2023.
At the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz became the first driver to record a DNS at Lusail Circuit.
The highest number of drivers to finish on the lead lap at the Qatar Grand Prix is 13, which happened in 2023.
Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to retire on the first lap of a race at Lusail Circuit in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
CHAMPIONSHIP GLORY
The title was decided in Max Verstappen’s favour over the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Verstappen won the title as a result of the Saturday Sprint race.
In 2023, Max Verstappen became the first driver to win the Qatar Grand Prix and win the Drivers’ Championship in the same season. He was also the first Qatar polesitter to win the title in the same year.
The leader of the Drivers’ Championship after the Qatar Grand Prix has never failed to go on to win that year’s title. The team at the top of the Constructors’ Championship after this race has also gone on to win the title in both years that the event has been held.
The largest points lead held after the Qatar Grand Prix is 209, for Max Verstappen in 2023.