Qatar Grand Prix Winners: Every Lusail Race Measured
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Every Qatar Grand Prix winner, measured: four races at Lusail, three for Verstappen, and the tyre limits no other circuit has needed
Four Qatar Grands Prix have been held at Lusail since 2021. Max Verstappen won the last three, Lewis Hamilton the first. It is the only circuit where the FIA has capped tyre life, twice, and the 2025 race was decided by a safety car McLaren chose not to use. Every race, measured.
Under the safety car on lap 7 of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, almost every team pitted. McLaren kept both its cars out. Max Verstappen won, and Oscar Piastri finished second from pole.
It was the third Qatar Grand Prix in a row for Verstappen. Four races have been held at the Lusail International Circuit since 2021, and they have a character no other race shares: this is the only circuit where the FIA has told teams how many laps a set of tyres may run, 18 in 2023 and 25 in 2025. The fifth race is on Sunday 29 November 2026.
Every radio message from all four races is in our Qatar Grand Prix radio archive, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking. The 2023 race, below, is all here.
Every winner
Year
Winner
Team
Started
Pole
2021
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
Pole
Hamilton
2023
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
Pole
Verstappen
2024
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
2nd
Russell
2025
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
3rd
Piastri
No race was held in 2022, when Qatar hosted the football World Cup.
The numbers
Verstappen 3 wins (2023, 2024, 2025), Hamilton 1 (2021).
2 of 4 races won from pole.
Biggest climbs: Verstappen, 7th to 2nd in 2021, and Lando Norris, 10th to 3rd in 2023.
Tyre limits: 18 laps a set in 2023, 25 in 2025, the only mandated limits in Formula 1.
A safety car in 3 of 4 races, and four deployments in 2024 alone, counting the virtual one.
Fewest finishers: 15, in 2024.
The safety cars
Year
Safety cars
Virtual safety cars
2021
0
1
2023
1
0
2024
3
1
2025
1
0
Deployments counted from race control messages.
Why the tyres are limited
Lusail has almost no slow corners. Its slowest is taken at about 99 km/h, the highest minimum speed of any circuit we have measured, so the tyres are loaded sideways almost all the way round. In 2023 Pirelli found damage in the sidewalls of many sets after practice, linked to the kerbs, and the FIA capped tyre life at 18 laps on safety grounds, turning a 57-lap race into a forced three-stop. In 2025 the limit was 25 laps. The measurements are in Lusail explained.
2023: the hardest race
The 2023 race was run in extreme heat and humidity. Logan Sargeant retired feeling unwell, other drivers needed medical checks, and several said afterwards it was the most physically demanding race they had driven. Verstappen won from pole. Piastri, second, said so on the radio:
"Wowee. Thanks, guys. That was probably the hardest race I've ever had in my life." The FIA introduced new measures on cockpit heat afterwards.
2024: the stop-go
Verstappen was demoted one place on the grid for impeding George Russell in qualifying, so Russell started on pole. Verstappen passed him at the start. Lando Norris, running second, was then given a ten-second stop-go penalty for not slowing for yellow flags, and Verstappen won from Charles Leclerc and Piastri.
2025: the call
When the safety car came out on lap 7 of 2025, the 25-lap limit meant a stop then would leave only one more to make. Almost everyone pitted. McLaren kept Piastri and Norris out, lost the lead, and never got it back. Verstappen:
"Yeah, it's unbelievable. Really well done with the strategy, guys. That was awesome." The win took him to within twelve points of Norris with one race left. The title was settled a week later, and that finale is in every Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner, measured.
2021: Alonso back on the podium
Hamilton won the first Qatar Grand Prix from pole. Verstappen started seventh after a grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in qualifying, and finished second. Fernando Alonso was third for Alpine, his first podium in seven years.
Tyre limits and the 2023 kerb damage: our Lusail explained and the sources cited there
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Follow Qatar live
At Lusail the race is decided by a pit wall reacting to a safety car in seconds, and you hear the call on the radio.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, including tyre limits and penalties. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
Max VerstappenRed Bull · Qatar Grand Prix 2025 · Race · 20:28:55 local
EngineerAnyway, regardless of that, we will fight to the end, mate. Fantastic.
DriverYeah, it's unbelievable. Really well done with the strategy, guys. That was awesome. Thank you very much. You keep staying in it. That was a very lovely race. You take that one. Great job, everyone.
Oscar PiastriMcLaren · Qatar Grand Prix 2023 · Race · 19:33:01 local
EngineerRecharge on is good. Great job, mate. Keeping the podium streak going.
DriverWowee. Thanks, guys. That was probably the hardest race I've ever had in my life. Yeah. Thank you very much. Nice assistance from Hoover Bold, everyone over at Tome 1. Thank you. Great job, everybody. Another double podium. Fantastic job.
EngineerI
Driverknow we let you down on Friday in quali, but hope we made up for it today. Thank you very much, everyone.
