Lusail International Circuit, north of Doha, opens tomorrow, Friday 2 October, for the Qatar Grand Prix weekend — the first Formula 1 round in the Gulf region this season.
The opening day carries two free practice sessions: the first to find the state of the track after months without use, the second after sunset in the same conditions the race will be run in. That difference matters at Lusail in particular, because the asphalt temperature drops sharply between day and night, and the working window of the tyres shifts considerably with it.
Saturday brings the third practice session and then qualifying across three stages, the session that sets the starting grid. At a circuit like Lusail, where overtaking is relatively difficult despite the long main straight, grid position tends to be the strongest single indicator of Sunday’s result.
The circuit was built for motorcycles, and its flowing design means sustained lateral load on the tyres — so tyre management becomes the first question.
Sunday 4 October is the main race, over 57 laps of a 5.419km circuit with 16 corners. It starts in the evening under floodlights, the format Qatar has used since the round returned to its calendar.
What marks Lusail out technically is its sequence of fast medium-to-high-speed corners. The circuit was built for motorcycle racing, and its smooth, flowing design means sustained lateral load on the tyres rather than a series of braking and acceleration events. The result is that tyre management, not fuel consumption or braking, becomes the first question of the race.
Formula 1 circuits in the Gulf — technical comparison
| # | Circuit | Length | Corners | First race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeddah Corniche — Saudi Arabia | 6.174 km | 27 | 2021 |
| 2 | Lusail — Qatar | 5.419 km | 16 | 2021 |
| 3 | Bahrain International — Sakhir | 5.412 km | 15 | 2004 |
| 4 | Yas Marina — Abu Dhabi | 5.281 km | 16 | 2009 |
Jeddah is the longest, has the most corners and is the fastest on the whole calendar; Bahrain is the oldest and the first circuit to host Formula 1 in the Middle East. Yas Marina is the shortest after the 2021 redesign cut its length from 5.554 km and its corners from 21 to 16. — Source ↗
The 2026 rules add a fresh layer of uncertainty this year. This is the first time the circuit will be run with a power unit whose electric side approaches 350kW and with moveable aero front and rear. How that translates on Lusail’s main straight, which runs close to a kilometre, is an open question until the first session.
From a regional angle this weekend carries added value because the options have narrowed. After the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds were dropped, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are the only Formula 1 stops in the Gulf on the 2026 calendar. Anyone planning to attend a single race in the region this season has these two dates and no others.
Gulf Auto will publish its reading of the weekend’s results and of what the sessions reveal about the order of the field in the new technical era.
