What F1 has said about Qatar GP after ‘very tragic’ bombing
The Qatar GP is due to be held at the end of November at Lusail.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said the sport is “monitoring the situation very closely” in Qatar, after a portion of its capital city, Doha, was recently bombed by Israel.
Israeli military confirmed it had “full responsibility” for what it described as a “precise strike” on the city on Tuesday, which targeted Hamas leaders and killed six people.
F1 CEO ‘monitoring’ Qatar status after ‘very tragic’ bombing
Qatar’s foreign ministry reacted with anger after the attack, saying in a statement: “While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”
With the Qatar Grand Prix scheduled for November, this has raised questions over the safety of the event going ahead, with Doha not only serving as a significant transport hub in the region, but the Lusail International Circuit sitting a matter of kilometres away from where the strike took place.
Domenicali confirmed Formula 1 is keeping a close eye on events in Qatar, but could not yet clarify whether or not the upcoming race in Lusail is under threat.
Rather, he hopes to see the sport act as a catalyst for positivity.
“That is very tragic, very difficult,” Domenicali told The Observer when discussing the recent bombing.
“We are monitoring the situation very closely but we are not in a situation today where we can say that it is a concern [for the race to go ahead]. We hope that sport will bring positivity.”
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The former Ferrari team principal added an explanation of the unique position Formula 1 holds in the world of sport, given its executives discuss races with heads of state and government leaders on a regular basis.
Given that, he hopes the sport can be a unifier owing to its global status.
“We are the only worldwide sport that every year is around the globe where we meet with prime ministers, with kings, with everyone, with the top men in the world,” Domenicali said.
“So my hope is that through F1 we can also talk about the bigger picture of the world in a way that the sport can unify the world that we’re living in.”
Qatar is due to host the penultimate round of the F1 2025 season, with the race weekend set to take place between 28-30 November.
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