F1 Qatar Grand Prix: Press conference schedule

As F1 heads to the Losail International Circuit for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, the press conference schedule features an interesting lineup of F1 drivers and personnel throughout the weekend.

The Qatar Grand Prix virtual press conference will begin with the drivers on Thursday and feature team principals on Friday. The post-qualifying conference will be held on Saturday for the top three drivers from the session, and a post-race press conference on Sunday will feature the three podium finishers.

The driver lineup for the Qatar Grand Prix Thursday press conference includes: Pierre Gasly paired with Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso with Nicholas Latifi, Esteban Ocon with Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda with Mick Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel with Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton has been paired with his 2022 teammate George Russell, while his current teammate Valtteri Bottas will be paired with Carlos Sainz. Haas driver Nikita Mazepin is paired with Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen with Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen with Sergio Perez.

The Qatar Grand Prix Thursday conference is scheduled for 2:30 pm local time on November 18, 2021.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner have been paired to talk in the Team Principals Press Conference at the Qatar Grand Prix (Photo by XPB - Pool/Getty Images).

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has been paired with Red Bull Racing chief Christian Horner, who is likely to set the stage for an interesting and feisty verbal match in the conference.

Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur has been paired with Alpha Tauri team boss Franz Tost for the Qatar Grand Prix Friday press conference, scheduled for 3:00 PM on November 19, 2021.

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Qatar Grand Prix expected to have "a lot of overtaking"

The Qatar Motor and Motorbike Federation boss Amro Al- Hamad believes the inaugural F1 Qatar Grand Prix will feature plenty of overtaking opportunities at the Losail International Circuit.

Speaking to the Motorsport Network, Al-Hamad said:

"I know from a competitive driver point of view that there is a lot of overtaking that is going to be done, against all of the speculation that has been spread, that this is a straight-line kind of circuit, which it’s not."

The QMMF chief believes the lack of F1 data available for the Qatar Grand Prix circuit will make it an interesting and unpredictable weekend. New circuits on the calendars have always been a mixed bag in terms of predictions and the only data teams have of the circuit is virtually-simulated information, which isn't 100% representative of reality.