Qatar stepped in at a late stage throughout 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 start off 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 made by little pit garages that had been developed for MotoGP, as nicely as short-term group hospitality buildings in the paddock, the circuit has responded by constructing a fully 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 throughout the Globe Cup. All the departments, all the authorities in the state of Qatar are eager to really come and assistance us out with all that they collected throughout 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 extremely eager to share their experiences with us to make positive that we provide an even larger 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 handle 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 never consider 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 one particular tunnel. Now we have up to 4 tunnels to serve the entrance and the exit of the spectators.”
As element of the upgrade operate the circuit has been resurfaced, while there have been no adjustments to the layout.
Losail International Circuit overview
Photo by: QMMF
Whilst 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 totally disappeared.
“It was one particular of the quite a few tips that we had currently on our agenda,” stated Al-Hamad. “It’s just a thing that we explored. Perhaps, most likely, it is going to be a thing in the future.
“I’m not telling you it is going to be, but we’re just open now for so quite a few tips. We are not leaving any stone unturned, but it is not confirmed news or something.”
