Formula 1 is ready to embrace the 75th different circuit in its history: from Friday the action will start on the track in Losail, for the first Grand Prix in the history of Qatar. The circuit of the tiny town on the Arabian peninsula has been included in the calendar to replace the Melbourne event, but from 2023 it will become a regular appointment of Formula One. Scuderia Ferrari arrived at this race with the confidence given by the good results achieved in Mexico City and Interlagos, which allowed the Maranello team to bring its margin in the constructors’ standings on McLaren to a reassuring +31 points.
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The latest venues which were initially not on the calendar date back to last year and do not bring good memories, also due to the lack of competitiveness from Ferrari’s SF1000 car. At Mugello, on the occasion of race number 1000 in Ferrari history, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were not able to do better than an eighth and tenth place. Things went better in Portimao, with Ferrari fourth at the end of the race thanks to the Monegasque driver, but more than a minute away from the winner, Lewis Hamilton. To find a top 3 finish on a circuit debuting in the calendar, we must go back to 2016, when Sebastian Vettel was second in Baku behind Nico Rosbeg’s Mercedes.
The last victory of a Ferrari on a track making its debut dates back to 2010 and was scored by Fernando Alonso, who won in an incredible South Korean Grand Prix, conditioned by the pouring rain and the constant presence of the Safety Car. That day the Asturian seemed one step away from winning the world title, which then faded badly in Abu Dhabi. That afternoon also remains the last double red podium on a new track, with Felipe Massa finishing third, behind Lewis Hamilton.
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