Organisers of Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix have revealed the extent of the renovations made to the Lusail International Circuit.
Qatar joined Formula 1’s calendar as a one-off during its Covid-hit 2021 season and secured a 10-year deal to become a permanent fixture from 2023 through 2032.
The event will remain at the Lusail International Circuit, which hosted the 2021 round, and which has held MotoGP races since 2004.
While the circuit layout has not been altered the facility itself has been upgraded, with an entirely new pits and paddock complex, medical centre, race control, media centre and expanded fan zones.
The facility now has the capacity for 52,000 spectators, with new car parks, access roads and tunnels having been constructed.
“We had the first race in 2021 but it was not one of the rounds of the 10-year deal so that was like a soft opening, and we’ve come a long way since we started,” said Amro Al-Hamad, CEO of the Lusail International Circuit and the Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation.
“We’re going through a huge transformation, and the aim behind that is to make the experience an exceptional one for the race drivers and for spectators.
“There haven’t been any changes to the race course, and that’s following the good feedback we had from the drivers in 2021, and the fact we want to keep the history of the MotoGP, the past lap times etc from the last 20 years.”
Lusail will continue to host MotoGP, alongside Formula 1’s long-term deal, while the circuit will also welcome the World Endurance Championship from 2024.
“We are the new World Cup for the next 10 years – we are striving to find more opportunities and better opportunities for the future,” said Al-Hamad, in reference to Qatar’s recent duties as the host of the FIFA World Cup.
“We’re going to have this race in Qatar in the next 10 years. We wanted to extend the experience to sustainability, we want to see Qatar students and youth be part of this vision. We expect to see Qatari engineers and designers working with F1, so it’s [the upgrades] not only focused on having the race over the 10 years.”
This season’s Qatar round, which will be a Sprint weekend, will take place from October 6 to 8.
