What does Yamaha’s shock MotoGP boycott mean for F1 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi?
by Ronald Vording · AutosportF1 still intends to go ahead with the final two grands prix of the season in the Middle East after the surprising news from Yamaha. However, F1 is keeping a close eye on developments, including the US midterm elections
Tensions surrounding next week's Qatar Grand Prix have reached boiling point in the MotoGP paddock. There had already been unrest behind the scenes for some time, with several riders expressing their concerns, but on Sunday Yamaha became the first manufacturer to make a public statement.
Both Yamaha and its satellite team Pramac have decided to boycott the race, prompting MotoGP to issue a statement threatening not only contractual but also sporting sanctions. Alex Marquez will also be absent from the Qatar race, as he has scheduled surgery following his heavy crash at the Catalan Grand Prix back in May.
It underlines that not everyone in MotoGP is eager to travel to the Middle East under the current circumstances, although the championship maintains that the race weekend at the Lusail International Circuit from 6-8 November will go ahead as planned. Deputy CEO Carlos Ezpeleta travelled to Qatar himself on Thursday to speak with the local authorities about safety guarantees.
MotoGP's position is also interesting in the context of Formula 1, as the premier class on two wheels now also falls under the Liberty Media umbrella. F1 is due to visit Qatar three weeks later (27-29 November) and has told Autosport that those plans remain unchanged despite the news from Yamaha.
This was also communicated in a message sent to all teams during the F1 weekend in Mexico, which has been seen by Autosport.
In the message, sent simply as an update to anticipate potential questions arising from the Yamaha news, F1 reiterates that it still intends to conclude the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Teams were informed in advance about the news, with the message noting that the other manufacturers and MotoGP as a whole will still travel to Qatar as planned.
F1 sees no reason to change its own plans at this stage, emphasising that neither the travel advice nor the insurance situation has changed since May, allowing the championship to proceed.
Naturally, crucial variables remain, with the US midterm elections perhaps the most important of all. There are fears in the Middle East that the conflicts could escalate further afterwards, although F1 already has a plan B in place in the form of Imola.
As previously reported by Autosport, the organisers in Imola were given the green light more than six weeks ago to begin preparations and build the temporary grandstands. This gives F1 the opportunity to react quickly if the security situation in the Middle East deteriorates in the coming weeks.
Should that plan B ultimately not be needed, F1 has committed to covering all the costs of the preparations in Imola, ensuring that the organisers in Emilia-Romagna face no financial risks under any circumstances.
Why F1 drivers and team principals are cautious about speaking out
While several riders and teams in MotoGP have been critical of the plan to go ahead with the Middle East races, this has been far less common in the F1 paddock.
The message obtained by Autosport confirms that teams and drivers are being asked not to speak too critically, just as happened earlier this year regarding the technical regulations. In the case of the Middle East, teams are being asked to trust F1 and the FIA and to maintain the same public stance they have consistently expressed in recent weeks.
This has been reflected in several press conferences involving drivers and team principals over the past few weeks, including in Mexico. When the subject came up during Friday's press conference, Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies responded: “It is typically the FIA and F1's task to approach it in the most complete way, with a full set of information, and to give us the direction on that. This is why, us not doing the same effort as them in terms of assessing the situations, we fully rely on them to make the right call.
“I have to say that history has shown that they have made most of these calls very right in the past. In terms of deadlines, I think all the teams are on the same boat and have... So logistics are very much channelled through F1 and the FIA anyway, so we all know very well where that is.”
Williams team principal James Vowles expressed similar views.
In recent weeks, only two drivers have been slightly more critical on the record: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. The former indicated that he normally very much enjoys travelling to the Middle East, but that in this case – if it were entirely up to him – he might prefer to race somewhere else.
Sainz said during the press conference in Austin that, in his view, it is difficult to be fully convinced of the safety situation at this stage, regardless of what F1 and the FIA tell him.
“I think they seem very convinced that it's going to go ahead. I think on my personal side, and not speaking as the GPDA, it's very difficult to be convinced right now,” Sainz said. “There are still things happening in the Middle East, and also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US, and things that are going to happen on the political side of the world that could affect the next month and a half very suddenly. So, I think it's relatively premature to be so convinced.”
These are valid comments, but in line with the above, Sainz was subsequently spoken to and later that day issued a clarification in the Williams group chat to emphasise that he, too, fully trusts F1 and the FIA on this matter.
The fact that F1 is actively pursuing this approach is widely known among the drivers. When Sainz's comments were brought up during the Dutch media session in Mexico, Verstappen laughed: “Someone will probably have had a word with him afterwards! You're not really allowed to say those things.”
On a more serious note, Verstappen explained that much depends on what happens over the coming weeks. Asked by Autosport whether he still stands by his earlier comments, he now says: “It also depends a bit on what they can guarantee in terms of safety and what happens over the coming weeks.
"You can say now that you're happy to go there, but you don't know what will happen next week, because the region is obviously still not entirely stable.”
In practice, F1 is well aware of this. With enormous sums of money involved, nobody wants to blink first, while from a political perspective it is important not to give any indication in that direction.
However, in its communication with the teams, F1 makes it very clear that safety always comes first. It is closely monitoring developments – including the midterms – and emphasises that it will do “the right thing” if the situation changes. In that respect, the premier class of four-wheeled motorsport has more time than its two-wheeled counterpart.
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