After yesterday’s Sprint Race, teams are questioning whether overtaking will be possible. The short DRS zone and the very high average speed made the Sprint Race relatively uneventful, and the 25-lap tire limit further constrains strategies, leaving little room for surprises.
There is a real possibility that the long procession seen in the Sprint Race could repeat itself today in the full Grand Prix, which is three times as long. At the conclusion of yesterday’s race, the assessment of overtaking potential was unanimous: “very difficult if not impossible.” Despite the very high speed—Oscar Piastri’s pole yesterday was achieved at an average above 245 km/h—the Losail circuit is among the least favorable tracks for overtaking. This is particularly surprising given that the main straight is over a kilometer long.
The Sprint Race highlighted the limitations
The dynamics of the Sprint Race were very clear. The speed through the final corner onto the main straight (minimum speed around 160 km/h) does not allow a driver to get close enough to the car in front. It is impossible to cross the finish line with a gap of less than six or seven tenths, and that margin is too large to recover using DRS. Only one overtaking maneuver was seen before the first corner, and even that occurred because Fernando Alonso made a mistake exiting Turn 16, running wide and allowing Antonelli to close in.
This is not a new situation at Lusail. Last year, the same dynamics highlighted similar issues, and without interventions, nothing different could be expected. Curiously, in 2024 the FIA decided to shorten the DRS zone from 900 to 725 meters because overtaking had appeared too easy in 2023, leaving little chance for defenders. The DRS activation point moved from 170 meters after Turn 16 to 300 meters. The results were immediately apparent; twelve months ago, the long ‘trains’ of cars clearly indicated a problem, yet no action was taken.
DRS and pit stop strategy could dictate the race
After the Sprint Race, the alarm was raised again, but it is now too late to make adjustments. There is concern that the combination of a reduced DRS zone and mandatory two-stop strategies—forcing teams to pit in a narrow window—could turn the race into a long train of cars with open DRS wings.
“In theory, it would have been possible to restore the DRS zone to its 2023 length after the Sprint Race,” commented a team insider yesterday evening, “but it would have been impossible to get approval from all the teams.” Unless different tire compounds are chosen for the start of the Grand Prix, opinions are unanimous: the race will likely be a long procession.
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