2024 Qatar GP Sprint Race Preview

James Punt got off the mark in the Sprint Shootout with two winners from just three bets. Check out his 2024 Qatar GP Sprint Race preview and tips below.

2024 Qatar GP Sprint Preview

Looking at the five Sprint races so far in 2024, there are a couple of things that stand out. The first is that the only driver not to have won one from pole position is Lando Norris, twice.

The other is that you do not see many drivers from outside the top eight on the grid scoring points. There have been a few, well five to be exact, but the short format, with no pitstops, means that there is not the time for the order to change that much. The start is the biggest chance to make a move and that is where Norris has been less than stellar in 2024.

Norris Knows His Job

Norris also knows that his job is to finish ahead of the two Ferraris. George Russell also knows that. This track, with its very smooth surface, is allowing Mercedes to run the car low and stiff, just as they did in Vegas. The layout of this track is not quite as ideal for them as Vegas was, but Russell has his tail up.

The pole position driver has won the two Grand Prix and the one Sprint race here, but I am going to go for a Russell win. He can lean on Norris in the opening moments and I suspect that Norris will yield, rather than crash, or at least he should do. It is a different gig now. He is racing for the team and only the team.

The Drivers’ Championship is over and now he has to get McLaren their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998. Winning the Sprint would only generate a single point more than finishing second, so it is not a big deal. Sunday’s race is a different matter, but these Sprints are mere flim flam.

2024 Qatar GP Sprint Race Tip: 1 point George Russell to win the Sprint Race @ 6.50 with Betfred

In terms of any driver getting into the top eight and scoring a point, it certainly is not flim flam for the likes of Haas, Alpine and Visa RB. With just four points between them and tens of millions in prizemoney at stake, every point is crucial.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly starts eighth and his job is to hold that place, or better it if he can. The seven cars in front are quicker and I suspect he will be hard pushed to make any inroads, but if he gets a good start, then who knows.

Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg starts ninth and his target is to beat Gasly and get a point. He has scored in two Sprint races, 7th in Miami, and 8th in Texas. He started form tenth on the grid in Texas, so he can do it from outside the points paying places, but it is hard. It could all be about the start.

Liam Lawson starts tenth for Visa RB, but they will be rueing what happened to Tsunoda in qualifying. He never looked anything other than a top 10 qualifier but they made a bit of a dog’s dinner of his final qualifying lap in Q1 and traffic cost him a clear run. I can’t see Lawson having the pace to make the top eight.

Gasly is a 1.40 shot to score points, Hulkenberg 1.67, both too short to be of interest.

The next update will be around an hour before the qualifying session latter today.

-JamesPunt