Qatar Grand Prix

December 1, 2024, at home

I am watching live coverage of the twenty-third race of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season. The Qatar Grand Prix is being broadcast on ESPN2 from a feed from Sky Sports F1. The race started at 7 p.m. local time (11 a.m., Eastern Time in the United States).

(When I was a young kid in the 1960s, I had to pick a country and write a short essay about it for school. I picked Qatar because it was the smallest country I could find, and I figured there wouldn't be that much information about it. There were only a few paragraph about Qatar in my encyclopedia.)

Below is a diagram of the Lusail International Circuit, sometimes called the Losail International Circuit, located just outside of the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Each circuit around the world has a different configuration, therefore a different dynamic, regarding turns and elevation fluctuations.

This season's 24-race schedule is as follows: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, China, Miami, Italy, Monaco, Canada, Spain, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy (different circuit), Azerbaijan, Singapore, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

The first two races this season (in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia) were held on Saturdays due to the Islamic observance of Ramadan. All other races will be held on Sundays, as usual, except for the Las Vegas Grand Prix which is being held on Saturday.

Before each race, there are two days of practice/qualifying. The races run every week or every other week from March into December, with a month-long summer break.

In Formula 1 racing, there are 20 (male) drivers, with zero drivers from the United States. A driver from the United States made it more than halfway through this season, but he was replaced.

There are 10 teams (with two drivers on each team), so not only do drivers compete against their rivals, but they also compete against their teammates. There are two championships: one for the drivers and one for the constructor teams.

Max Verstappen won his fourth championship (in a row) following last week's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

This season, as with last season, there are three races in the United States. In fairly recent years, there were no drivers from the United States and no races in the United States.

Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. I have been a fan for decades. I watched my first F1 race decades ago on television at the home of one of my many Austrian cousins while on vacation in Austria.