Losail upgraded as Qatar promises F1 race will be annual “World Cup”

Qatar stepped in at a late stage through the COVID-hit 2021 season to fill a hole in the calendar left by the cancellation of other events.

The nation subsequently signed a ten-year deal with F1 to get started in 2023, with 2022 skipped to stay away from any clash with the FIFA Globe Cup.

Right after the initial F1 occasion had to deal with the compromises produced by smaller pit garages that have been developed for MotoGP, as nicely as short-term group hospitality buildings in the paddock, the circuit has responded by constructing a totally new pit and paddock complicated, as nicely as adding tunnels and enhancing access and parking.

“The Globe Cup was completed currently in 2022,” stated Amro Al-Hamad, CEO of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation and the Losail circuit. “We are the new Globe Cup for the subsequent ten years.

“We’ve collected a lot of lessons discovered through the Globe Cup. All the departments, all the authorities in the state of Qatar are eager to really come and aid us out with all that they collected through that period.

“There is a lot when it comes to the organisation of the fans going in and out (and) when it comes to safety measures.

“Everyone now is pretty eager to share their experiences with us to make confident that we provide an even greater calibre occasion than the Globe Cup was.”

Losail International Circuit overview

Photo by: QMMF

The building operate will see the creation of a new race manage facility and media centre as nicely as bigger pit garages.

“The F1 paddock is state of the art,” stated Al-Hamad. “We have not left any stone unturned. We’ve collected lots of lessons discovered from other circuits about the planet.

“The pit boxes are now appropriate for F1 racing, opposite to the ones that we had for Moto GP in the previous. We have 50 boxes. I do not feel that anyone else inside the F1 calendar has that quantity of pit boxes.

“The adjustments also reached the group buildings. It really is a total modify from what we had in the previous.

“We made use of to have 1 tunnel. Now we have up to 4 tunnels to serve the entrance and the exit of the spectators.”

As aspect of the upgrade operate the circuit has been resurfaced, even though there have been no adjustments to the layout.

Losail International Circuit overview

Photo by: QMMF

When the investment in the Losail upgrades suggests that the permanent venue is now favoured, the alternative of moving the grand prix to a street layout in Doha has not completely disappeared.

“It was 1 of the quite a few concepts that we had currently on our agenda,” stated Al-Hamad. “It’s just anything that we explored. Perhaps, in all probability, it is going to be anything in the future.

“I’m not telling you it is going to be, but we’re just open now for so quite a few concepts. We are not leaving any stone unturned, but it is not confirmed news or something.”