FIA willing to drop Losail from F1 if track limit issues are not solved

Cockpit temperatures were close to 50 degrees during the Qatar GP.

FIA willing to drop Losail from F1 if track limit issues are not solved

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem (L) is willing to drop Qatar's Losail Circuit (R). (Via IMAGO & Autosport)

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has strongly criticized the challenging track conditions in Qatar, which caused numerous problems for teams. The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix marked its second occurrence, having debuted in 2021. It was absent from the 2022 calendar because of Qatar hosting the FIFA World Cup. Formula One has a ten-year agreement with Qatar, ensuring the track’s presence at least until 2031.

Track limits became a major topic during the Qatar GP, with 51 lap times invalidated due to violations. Sulayem firmly urged Losail’s responsible organizations to address the issue promptly, despite their reluctance. He emphatically stated that if these problems persist into the next year, Formula One will cease racing there. This situation resembled the Austrian GP, where stewards reviewed nearly 1,200 potential violations.

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 “They have to improve the track themselves. I know they are reluctant to do that, but if they don’t do that, there will be no race. It’s that simple. They can’t afford this. They have to do it with urgency because it has to be done before next year,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as per motorsport.com.

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Also read: Esteban Ocon claims, “You need to kill me to retire” after the physically taxing Qatar GP

The FIA addresses the extreme weather conditions at the Qatar GP

Apart from track limits, the extremely hot temperatures posed a big hurdle for the teams. Experienced drivers like Fernando Alonso were seen struggling, while Logan Sargeant had to retire his car mid-way. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon admitted to throwing up inside his helmet during the race. The FIA addressed these issues which are of big concern towards the safety of drivers. They said that they had already started analyzing and rectifying the problems.

Max Verstappen after the Qatar GP
Max Verstappen after the Qatar GP (via Pit Debrief)

In their statement, the FIA noted that while the drivers are professional athletes who train day and night, they should not be subject to such severe conditions. They claimed that safety parameters such as track conditions and infrastructure is solely the FIA’s responsibility and they are working hard to prevent a repetition of the same.

“While being elite athletes, they should not be expected to compete under conditions that could jeopardize their health or safety… with other matters relating to safety such as circuit infrastructure and car safety requirements, the FIA will take all reasonable measures to establish and communicate acceptable parameters in which competitions are held,” the FIA said in their statement.

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