The Qatar Grand Prix did not feature on the original calendar, but was added in place of the Australian Grand Prix, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first Qatar Grand Prix, with a 10-year contract to host the Qatar Grand Prix from 2023 at a new purpose-built circuit;[6] there was no Qatar Grand Prix in 2022, as the country hosted the FIFA World Cup.[7][8][9]
Championship standings
Heading into the race, Max Verstappen led the World Drivers' Standings with 332.5 points, 14 points ahead of second-placed Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas was in third on 203 points, too far behind Verstappen to be able to win the title but 25 points ahead of Sergio Pérez in fourth, with Lando Norris fifth on 151 points. In the World Constructors' Standings, Mercedes led with 521.5 points, 11 points ahead of second-placed Red Bull Racing. Ferrari were third with 287.5 points ahead of McLaren on 256. Alpine and AlphaTauri were fifth and sixth with 112 points each, with Alpine being ahead courtesy of a win, compared to no wins for AlphaTauri.[10]
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race or practice.[11]
Tyre choices
Sole tyre supplier Pirelli allocated the C1, C2, and C3 compounds of tyre to be used during this Grand Prix weekend.[12]
Practice
The event held three practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first two practice sessions were on Friday, 19 November at 13:30 and 17:00 local time (UTC+03:00) respectively. The first practice session ended with Max Verstappen fastest for Red Bull Racing, ahead of AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.[13] Second practice ended with Valtteri Bottas fastest, then Gasly and Verstappen.[14] In the third practice session, held on Saturday from 14:00, Bottas was again fastest, with his teammate Hamilton second.[15]
Qualifying
Qualifying took place at 17:00 local time, and lasted one hour, with Hamilton qualifying on pole. Verstappen, who qualified second, received a five-grid place penalty for failure to respect double yellow flags in Q3.[15]
^1 – Max Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for failing to respect a double waved yellow flag in Q3.[19]
^2 – Valtteri Bottas received a three-place grid penalty for failing to respect a single waved yellow flag in Q3.[20]
Race
The race began at 17:00 local time and was contested over 57 laps.[15] The race was noted for four front-left tyre failures, as teams attempted to run one-stop strategies against Pirelli's advice.[21][22][23] Hamilton won the race, leading every lap, but Verstappen, who finished second, denied him a grand slam by setting the fastest lap. Fernando Alonso finished third, taking his first podium since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
