The strategies Verstappen could use to battle the McLarens in Qatar

Oscar Piastri will line up on pole position for Sunday's race in Lusail. His teammate Lando Norris completes the front row, while Max Verstappen will start from third place.

Entering the penultimate race, Norris leads Piastri by 22 points, and Max Verstappen by 25 points.

The Dutchman will have a good chance of gaining positions off the line like he did during the Sprint, but as a single Red Bull driver battling two McLarens, he can be his team's priority in terms of strategy.

The Qatar Grand Prix will be a mandatory two-stop race, as a maximum of 25 laps can be completed on a set of tyres.

Pirelli lists using two sets of medium tyres for around the maximum 25 laps each, before switching over to the softs for the final stint at the top. It's also a possibility to have a set of hards for the second stint as well.

Should teams and drivers want to avoid the softs, they can complement their two sets of mediums with a set of hards. For that strategy, the second stop is expected to take place from Lap 38 to 44.

Pirelli lists two options which would require a start on the hard tyres, but those can lead to drivers losing positions on the opening lap, which would be hard to regain at the Lusail track.

In terms of the championship contenders, Norris, Piastri and Verstappen all have the same number of tyres available: two new and one used set of mediums, one new set of hards, and three used sets of soft tyres.

Moreover, they can't use soft tyres to finish the race, as the lap count would extend the allowed 25.

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