DOHA (The Thursday Times) — Mercedes and Ferrari will let team members who do not want to travel stay away from Formula One’s last two races of the season, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, as the sport presses ahead with its Gulf finale despite the war involving Iran.
The Qatar Grand Prix is due at the Lusail International Circuit on November 29, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina on December 6.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, told the team principals’ news conference at the São Paulo Grand Prix that anyone who did not feel comfortable making the trip could stay behind without any effect on their relationship with the team. He said nobody in the team had raised the issue with him so far.
“If someone feels he or she doesn’t feel comfortable in travelling, then it’s something that I would always respect, and maybe that’s an opportunity to give somebody else a chance,” Wolff said.
Ferrari has taken the same position, according to reports citing the team. “If anyone has concerns and doesn’t want to come, we will respect their decision,” Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, was quoted as saying.
The FIA says the races will go ahead
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, said on Tuesday that both races would take place as planned. “We are ready for Qatar and Abu Dhabi,” he wrote on social media. “We are fully prepared and committed to delivering two outstanding grands prix weekends and a spectacular conclusion to the Formula One world championship.”
Formula One has told Imola, in Italy, which had been on standby as a replacement venue, that it will not be needed. A Formula One source said travel advice still allowed travel to both countries, travel insurance remained valid, and events were going ahead there, pointing to the MotoGP race in Qatar last weekend.
A calendar reshaped by war
The war has already rewritten the region’s motorsport calendar. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was scrapped earlier this year after the fighting began, and the Bahrain race was postponed and moved to Malaysia. This week, Formula E moved its Jeddah season opener to April.
Other sports have also adjusted. Australia’s football friendly against Jordan was moved from Amman to Doha over security concerns, and the United States pulled its team out of the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Both of this season’s titles are already settled. Kimi Antonelli has won the drivers’ championship, and Mercedes secured the constructors’ title in São Paulo last weekend.
