Qatar applies for Formula One race licence

Qatar is aiming to join Bahrain and Abu Dhabi and become the third Gulf location to host Formula One events, and has already been vetted as a possible venue for staging pre-season tests, it was reported on Sunday.

“We are trying to get the license which would allow us to host F1 teams for pre-season testing and other activities,” Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, president of Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation (QMMF), was quoted as saying by The Peninsula newspaper on Sunday.

Al Attiyah added that executives from the FIA Safety Commission had already visited Doha’s US$75m Losail International Circuit.

“F1 race director Charlie Whiting was here to inspect the Losail Circuit. He was impressed with what he saw.

“Hosting an F1 team for pre-season testing would give the Losail Circuit a massive marketing boost among other things. We see F1 races in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Ours could be the third venue to facilitate F1 testing,” Al Attiyah said

The Losail Circuit has hosted the first race on the MotoGP calendar every season since 2004.

Bahrain and Abu Dhabi currently host F1 races as part of the official season.