Ferrari written off in Qatar as Marc Priestley identifies ‘real threat’ to McLaren at Lusail. Marc Priestley identifies ‘real threat’ to McLaren for Qatar GP as Ferrari written off.

Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the F1 Sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix after Lando Norris relinquished a winning position, but Marc Priestley, a former F1 mechanic and member of the McLaren pitstop crew from 2000-2009 believes his former team will face a significant challenge in the main race which takes place on Sunday at the 5.419-kilometre Lusail International Circuit.

The two McLaren drivers achieved a remarkable one-two finish in the Sprint on Saturday, extending their lead over Ferrari and Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. While Norris may have missed out on the drivers’ title, McLaren remains in contention for their first teams’ championship since 1998. Oscar Piastri’s victory, following Lando Norris’ strategic move to allow his teammate to pass him in the final laps, boosted McLaren’s point tally to 30 ahead of Ferrari and 37 ahead of Red Bull. With a 45-point advantage in the Qatar GP, McLaren could potentially secure the title here.

Marc Priestley, however, suggests that McLaren’s challenge won’t solely come from Ferrari, but from Mercedes’ George Russell, who he sees as a “real threat” in the Qatar Grand Prix. Despite Russell’s impressive pace throughout the Sprint, Oscar Piastri held firm, making a crucial move around the outside of Russell at Turn 1 after benefiting from a strong start from the clean side of the grid. With Norris playing a team role by backing off and allowing Oscar Piastri to utilize DRS, Russell was unable to complete the overtake.

Although George Russell showed superior speed during the Sprint, he was unable to close the gap sufficiently to challenge Oscar Piastri for the win. With this in mind, Priestley expects McLaren to face continued pressure from the Mercedes driver in the main race, even if Ferrari struggles to keep pace.

“George Russell for the Grand Prix tomorrow is a real threat to McLaren,” Marc Priestley explained in an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live. “I don’t think McLaren will be too worried about the Ferraris. Max Verstappen is Max Verstappen and could always be a threat, although today he’s had a slight off day.” – he pointed out.

McLaren will be hoping that Oscar Piastri can find better race pace in the Qatar Grand Prix than what the 23-year-old displayed during the F1 Sprint at the Lusail International Circuit. While Lando Norris clearly had more potential speed, he was forced to ease off and support Piastri, ultimately letting his teammate pass in the final laps to claim the victory.

If Piastri cannot enhance his race pace for the feature event, Mercedes and George Russell will undoubtedly seize the opportunity, setting their sights on challenging Norris for the win. McLaren’s advantage in the Sprint came from having two cars at the front, but Mercedes will be eager to split them in the main race.

However, should Piastri manage to improve his pace, even by a small margin, and get closer to Norris and Russell, McLaren could leverage their team strategy to gain an upper hand over Mercedes. This would be particularly significant as Lewis Hamilton is facing a difficult time in Qatar, following his frustrated P6 finish in the Sprint, leaving him in a less-than-ideal position for the Grand Prix.