The Qatar GP is scheduled for Sunday. The small oil-rich state has secured a long-term contract. What does Qatar aim to achieve with the sport, and how enjoyable is a Grand Prix on this circuit?
The Gulf region has become inextricably linked with the premier class of global motorsport. Following Bahrain (Sakhir) and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), Qatar, like Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), jumped on the Formula 1 bandwagon a few years ago. F1 is hot. This has been the case in the Middle East for quite some time.
The Bahrain Grand Prix has been on the calendar since 2004. The organization now has exclusive rights to the opening race. Last year, the contract, which was set to run until 2026, was renegotiated and extended until 2036. The annual ‘fee’ costs around 45 million dollars (42 million euros), according to Forbes and Formula Money, among others.
In Abu Dhabi, they opted for another prestigious spot on the calendar: the season finale. The underlying thought? The hope to be the backdrop for a showdown like the 2021 title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. They pay 40 million dollars annually for this privilege in the United Arab Emirates.
55 million dollars per year
Qatar, like the other newcomer Saudi Arabia, has been significantly exceeding this amount since 2021. Both countries reportedly cough up 55 million dollars per year for their spot on the calendar, combined with a ten-year contract. The reasoning and motivation in this case: to claim a prominent role on the world stage through sport.
Qatar has been making its mark with sporting events for some time, for example, through the annual MotoGP races. The Losail International Circuit has been a fixture on the global two-wheeler calendar since 2004.
“Sport contributes to making Qatar visible,” Gerd Nonneman, a Belgian professor and expert in international relations, argued in the run-up to the World Cup in that country. “Qatar is in a region where there is a constant threat lurking. For example, from Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is useful to have friends. Qatar wants to be loved by other countries.”
The Opposite Effect
The mission to be loved by other countries can also have the opposite effect, as was evident during the World Cup. Qatar faced a lot of criticism regarding the human rights situation, the conditions of migrant workers, and the hint of corruption surrounding the awarding of the World Cup. This made Qatar anything but loved in the Western world.
For the small country, however, sport serves as a means to a larger end: from prestige to honor, from visibility to even geopolitical security. With no shortage of oil dollars, they could afford to invest heavily to bring Max Verstappen to the country. The interest in motorsport did not come out of nowhere: the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation has been organizing various other races since 1987.
‘Circuit with a Nice Flow’
Nicky Catsburg knows what he’s talking about. He, like fellow countryman Tom Coronel, has competed several times at the Losail International Circuit in the WTCC in the past. Catsburg even stood on the podium there in 2017. “It’s been a while, but I always thought it was a super cool circuit with a nice flow,” he recalls. Catsburg praises the medium and high-speed corners. However, there was also a downside. “There was often sand on the track. This made the training difficult and caused major changes during the weekend.”
The fact that traditionally motorcycles rather than cars were in action on the circuit was clearly noticeable, according to Catsburg. “It was already a typical motorcycle circuit back then, so lots of flat kerbstones and artificial grass strips as run-off.”
”
