Formula 1 QATAR Grand Prix Prediction:The race for constructors' title is still on!

After winning the 4th consecutive championship title at the last Grand Prix in Las Vegas, behind Max Verstappen, but ahead of his team Red Bull, there are still some battles left for the remaining positions in the drivers' and constructors' championships. The most interesting one, the one for the constructors' championship, continues this weekend in the Grand Prix of Qatar.

This year's McLaren is a bit reminiscent of BMW in 2008 when the goals were simply set too low for no reason. A win by Robert Kubica was enough for them, and this season it seemed as if McLaren also just needed a taste of victory and they distanced themselves from winning the championship saying that it wasn't the plan. The team from Woking is leading the constructors' standings, but they are only 24 points ahead of Ferrari. A simple calculation ahead of this race, which would give McLaren the constructors' title before the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, implies that Norris and Oscar Piastri must win the first two places in both the sprint and the main race with a point for the fastest lap. Admittedly, Red Bull, in third place, is still in the game here, but with this misery from Sergio Perez, they will have a hard time making up 29 points for, first of all, Ferrari in second place in the championship.

After much deliberation, the stewards decided to penalize Max Verstappen for a situation that occurred in the final round of qualifying, when he obstructed George Russell on the track. As a result of the penalty, the two will swap starting positions. Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix and it should have been his first pole position since the race in Austria. However, late in the evening, the decision came from the stewards' chambers. Max received a one-place penalty for blocking George Russell and thus lost the best starting position. Ferrari was not fast enough in qualifying again. Charles Leclerc finished fifth, Carlos Sainz seventh, with Lewis Hamilton in between. Finally, a good qualifying for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, with eighth starting position.

Leclerc, who set the fifth-fastest time in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, is looking forward to a race that will focus on tire management, and in that regard, the SF-24 has already shown itself to be competitive. Charles Leclerc failed to improve on his fifth-fastest time in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate, very important race of the 2024 season. However, considering all weekend practices and sprint race, I expect Leclerc to find a way to the top 3 in Qatar.

OUR PREDICTION: Charles Leclerc in top 3