Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen receive a warning from the McLaren F1 team ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Verstappen will be the heavy favorite to win the Qatar Grand Prix, while Hamilton will fancy his chances of joining the Red Bull driver on the podium. Lando Norris’ McLaren will attempt to derail the Mercedes ace once more.

Andrea Stella, the team’s manager, is optimistic about McLaren’s prospects in this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The Italian acknowledges that despite their recent stumble in Singapore, Red Bull continue to dominate the Formula 1 grid.
He does, however, have reason to think that at this weekend’s Lusail International Circuit, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri might be able to repeat their last-place finish in Japan by taking the double podium.

Stella responded when asked about Red Bull, “Still a step too far.
To be fair, Max appears to have taken things a step too far right now.
There are still a variety of tracks available, but none of them exhibit Singapore characteristics.

“While there may be some tracks where we can compete – I believe Qatar should be a good track for us – I’m afraid that the characteristics we like are also the characteristics where Red Bull will be just outstanding.
Therefore, we must be realistic and acknowledge that certain events must transpire before we can take the last step.
“.

McLaren’s two podium finishes at Suzuka brought them much closer to Aston Martin in the race for the fourth championship spot.
With six rounds remaining and Mercedes and Ferrari leading by more than 100 points, the second-place finish behind Red Bull appears to be going too far.

Since the summer break, there is less of a difference between those two teams.
The Silver Arrows were once in the lead, but thanks to the Italians’ improved race pace, there are now only 20 points separating them.

Mercedes knew Suzuka would be a challenging track for their vehicle.
Toto Wolff, the team principal, emphasized how crucial it is that his team limit the damage in his official Qatar GP preview when reflecting on that race.

With six races remaining, he said, “We are relishing the fight and will be giving it our all to stay ahead, starting this weekend in Qatar.”.
For the first time since 2021, we visit Lusail.
We had a successful first Grand Prix there, so we are eager to return.

It’s a demanding circuit that the drivers also enjoy because of its sweeping turns.
There have been both positive and negative changes since our last visit.
Understanding the impact of the track resurfacing will therefore be a crucial aspect of FP1.

“Since it is a Sprint weekend, we won’t have much time to address this and find a strong setup for the remaining races.
We are looking forward to this task because we think it will be interesting.
“.