Today at 15:00 Central European Time, we will witness the final Sprint Race of the season. Doha will present itself in full style to deliver an exceptional show, one that we hope will be remembered for a long time.
On pole position for the Sprint we have Oscar Piastri, who, after missing the podium for six consecutive Grands Prix, now seems to have the chance to redeem himself. With George Russell starting second, Lando Norris third, and Max Verstappen down in P6, Oscar has a real opportunity this afternoon to keep the championship fight alive ahead of tomorrow’s main race.
However, the real question is this: will there actually be multiple viable ways to approach today’s 19-lap Sprint? On paper, yes. In reality, the drivers do not have that many strategic options to work with.
C2 the main star of Saturday in Doha, possibly even in Q1
Most drivers will very likely prefer the C2 Medium compound for the Sprint, whether new or used, rather than the Soft. Since last year this tyre completed a total distance of 34–35 laps, there should be no difficulty in finishing the Sprint with a used set (19 laps). This is what most drivers are expected to do, considering that nearly all of them have two new and two used sets of C2 still available. Those who still have three sets left could easily choose to run a brand-new one in the Sprint. This group includes Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson.
It is worth recalling that Pirelli introduced a new rule for this weekend: each individual set of tyres can be used for a maximum of 25 laps. Since the total race distance is 57 laps, drivers will need to make at least two pit stops, presumably using two sets of Mediums, a compound that performed very well last year.
We expect the yellow-banded C2 to be the most used compound today and again tomorrow in the race. Between new and used sets, teams still have four sets of Mediums available for the rest of the weekend. They could use one set in the Sprint, another (even if used) in Q1, and still keep two fresh sets for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
Ferrari could use Hamilton to carry out a test
As for the Soft compound, the drivers who reached SQ3 yesterday still have four sets available (which is also why some might attempt to get through Q1 on the Medium). Although four sets are enough for qualifying, a few drivers may try to save one extra set for the race to use either at the beginning or at the end of the Grand Prix. Others might consider taking a risk and testing the behaviour of the red-walled C3 during the Sprint. One such driver could be Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis still has five brand-new sets of C3 available. And since he starts from P18, he has nothing significant to gain from today’s Sprint other than enjoying himself, trying to climb back through the field, and gathering useful data. An experiment like this would be greatly appreciated by Ferrari, as it would help evaluate a potential use of the C3 in tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
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