On 30 November, Formula One finally gave this quiet date in its history something memorable — a floodlit sprint at Lusail that turned the desert sky bright orange. In this episode, we revisit the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix Sprint, where McLaren executed a controlled and confident one-two, Red Bull faltered on a rare off-day, and the competitive picture heading into the final race of the season shifted subtly but unmistakably.

We then celebrate the birthday of Mika Salo, the calm and adaptable Finn whose career stretched from Monaco masterclasses to championship-defining points at Ferrari. That leads us into a wider exploration of Finland’s remarkable influence on Formula One — a nation that continues to produce champions, race winners and some of the sport’s most naturally gifted drivers.

Finally, we wind back to qualifying for the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton closed out the decade with a commanding pole position under the Yas Marina lights.

All that and more in today’s episode of Chequered Past: The Evening That Glowed Orange.

Cover image: By Derivative work: Mb2437 - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

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Music by #Mubert Music Rendering