Hamilton hopes F1 can finish season with Qatar and Abu Dhabi despite Middle East uncertainty
Lewis Hamilton said before this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that he hopes Formula One will be able to conclude its season with the two scheduled rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. He added that he trusted the sport’s leadership to make the right call over whether to race in the region.
F1 is pressing ahead with its original plan for the end of the calendar, though a contingency is understood to be in place to host a final round at Imola if both Qatar and Abu Dhabi are cancelled. In March this year the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix were called off because of the war in the Middle East, and the Bahrain race has been moved to take place next weekend at Sepang in Malaysia. It is believed F1 must deliver at least 23 races to meet its commitments to broadcasters, meaning the cancellation of Qatar and Abu Dhabi would make a finale at Imola imperative.
“I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East,” Hamilton said. “From what I have read, things seem OK out there, but I don’t have all the information and I don’t know what the risk levels are. I trust in Stefano [Domenicali, F1’s CEO] to make the right decision for the sport. And I do hope we get to go there.”
Whether the races take place or not could affect the world championship. Kimi Antonelli leads his Mercedes teammate George Russell by 81 points with nine meetings remaining; if that number was reduced to eight the Italian could close it out even sooner. As things stand a lead of 100 points after Mexico, in five races time, or 75 after Brazil would suffice.
The promoters of the races are bullish they will go ahead but are always reluctant to cancel as they would still be liable for the race fee payable to F1. If the sport cancels, the fees do not have to be paid. Abu Dhabi organisers have gone as far as confirming musical acts set to perform including Zara Larsson, the Script, Imagine Dragons and Lewis Capaldi.
Responding to a social media post asking her to: “Please read about what UAE is doing to Sudan then cancel your Abu Dhabi show,” the Swedish singer posted: “I will not be going to Abu Dhabi.” This was later deleted but Larsson did go on to confirm she would not perform at the meeting. “Maybe it came off as a impulsive response to a comment,” she said. “But I have spent some time thinking about everything and decided that to not do the show aligns with me the most right now, for many different personal reasons beyond politics.”
A decision on whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds will proceed is unlikely to be forthcoming until after Antonelli has the title won, however, at the very least to keep the fight alive as long as possible.