F1 keeping Qatar GP under review after Doha strike, but no change to plan — yet
Formula 1 is “monitoring the situation very closely” in Qatar after a strike in Doha earlier this week, but the championship has not moved to place November’s Qatar Grand Prix under formal threat.
Israel’s military said it carried out a “precise strike” in the capital on Tuesday aimed at Hamas leaders, with six fatalities reported. Qatar’s foreign ministry condemned the attack and warned it “will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour… nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”
With the Lusail International Circuit sitting on Doha’s doorstep and the city serving as a crucial regional transport hub, questions quickly turned to what this could mean for F1’s penultimate round of 2025, scheduled for 28–30 November.
Speaking to The Observer, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali struck a cautious tone without escalating concern. “That is very tragic, very difficult,” he said of the events in Doha. “We are monitoring the situation very closely but we are not in a situation today where we can say that it is a concern [for the race to go ahead]. We hope that sport will bring positivity.”
It’s the line you’d expect at this stage of a fast-moving story. Behind the scenes, the usual checks will already be in motion: ongoing dialogue between F1, the FIA, the race promoter and local authorities, plus risk assessments on everything from team travel to freight movements in and out of Hamad International Airport.
Domenicali also pointed to F1’s unusual position in global sport — a championship that negotiates directly with heads of state and government leaders every year. “We are the only worldwide sport that every year is around the globe where we meet with prime ministers, with kings, with everyone, with the top men in the world,” he said. “So my hope is that through F1 we can also talk about the bigger picture of the world in a way that the sport can unify the world that we’re living in.”
For now, the Qatar weekend remains in its original slot as the 23rd round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship, per the official calendar. The paddock will keep a close eye on developments in the coming weeks, not least because teams typically lock in freight and personnel logistics well ahead of the late-season swing.
As ever with F1 and geopolitics, the sport will try to move only when it has to — balancing its calendar commitments with the baseline that safety comes first. If that balance shifts, we’ll hear it quickly. Until then, Lusail stays on the board.
