Qatar to host its first F1 Grand Prix in November

Formula One bosses have announced the sport will stage its first Qatar Grand Prix in November.

The inaugural race will take place at Losail International Circuit, 20 miles outside of Doha, and fills the vacant slot left by the cancelled Australian Grand Prix.

F1 announced on Twitter: “F1 will race in Qatar for the first time on November 19th-21st. Qatar will also join the F1 calendar in a 10-year deal from 2023.”

With Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi hosting the concluding rounds of the campaign on December 5th and December 12th respectively, the anticipated announcement means Lewis Hamilton's championship battle with Max Verstappen will end with a hat-trick of races in the Middle East.

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F1 chiefs will inevitably face claims of sportswashing, with human rights issues under scrutiny in the Gulf state.

Both the Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix (November 7th and November 14th) remain in line to go ahead, despite both countries being on the UK Government’s red list due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.

Qatar, the venue for next winter’s football World Cup, will form the final race of a triple-header on November 21st to allow F1 bosses to get around the complications of Mexico and Brazil being on the red list, and mandatory enforced hotel quarantine for thousands of staff of the seven UK-based teams.

Despite a number of cancelled races this year — including in Singapore, Canada, Japan and China — the sport is set to complete a record-breaking 22-round season.

Hamilton heads into the final seven rounds with a five-point advantage over rival Verstappen.