Where to watch the Qatar Grand Prix
Practice One
Sky Sports F1, 1.30pm GMT Friday
Sprint qualifying
Sky Sports F1, 5.30pm GMT Friday
Sprint
Sky Sports F1, 2pm GMT Saturday
Qualifying
Sky Sports F1, 6pm GMT Saturday
Race
Sky Sports F1, 4pm GMTSunday
Best bets
Lando Norris to win Qatar Grand Prix
1pt 2-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
Pierre Gasly points finish
1pt 5-2 general
Qatar Grand Prix predictions
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and Lando Norris will want to put out of his mind McLaren’s double disqualification in Sin City as he heads to this week’s Qatar Grand Prix aiming to seal his first Formula 1 drivers’ championship.
The 18 points he lost by being stripped of his second place in Las Vegas would have been very handy in that aim, but Norris knows that, barring a disaster in Saturday’s sprint, a win on Sunday will get the job done.
The Bristolian holds a 24-point advantage in the title race over his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and defending four-time champ Max Verstappen, and he will be crowned champion if he can extend that to 26 points or more going into next week’s finale in Abu Dhabi.
Norris was outperformed by Verstappen in Las Vegas, but he has taken three consecutive pole positions as well as the race victories in Mexico and Brazil, and the fast corners of the Lusail circuit should suit the McLaren well.
This being a sprint weekend there is only one practice session to fine tune the cars, while an additional curveball for the teams is that tyres can only be used for a maximum of 25 laps, due to the extreme punishment the Qatar track metes out to them.
But on balance, Norris looks the best bet at the odds, provided the occasion doesn’t get to him.
It has been a difficult season for the Alpine team, but Pierre Gasly, who has a habit of finishing seasons strongly, has reached the top-ten qualifying shootout at the last two races.
He recorded his fifth points finish of the year by coming home tenth in Sao Paulo, but the Frenchman was the luckless victim in a first-turn melee in Vegas.
Gasly finished fifth in Qatar last year and looks a decent bet to add to his tally on Sunday.
Qatar Grand Prix betting odds
Race winnerOddsMax Verstappen5-4Lando Norris7-4Oscar Piastri
6-1George Russell11-1Charles Leclerc
16-1Kimi Antonelli 16-1Lewis Hamilton
28-1Bar200-1
Odds correct at time of publication
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