Vasseur wants to race but will follow F1 and FIA’s call on Gulf races

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said in Mexico that he personally wants to race in Formula 1’s closing rounds, but will follow F1 and FIA decisions on where to go. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the call should be guided by international guidance, travel restrictions and advice from local governments.

The planned finale remained a Las Vegas-Qatar-Abu Dhabi triple-header. Travel insurance and government travel advice allowed the races to proceed at the time, but F1 said it could not guarantee that conditions would be unchanged by early December and would prioritise safety if the conflict escalated.

At Friday’s press conference at Interlagos, Wolff said the decision should account for international guidance, travel restrictions, whether airlines were flying, and warnings or feedback from local governments. He said the issue had not been raised internally, but he would respect anyone who felt uncomfortable travelling. If the situation grew more dangerous and that was reflected in the feedback, Wolff said F1 and FIA leaders would protect those due to travel.

The conflict has already altered F1’s calendar: Saudi Arabia’s race was cancelled, while Bahrain’s round was postponed and held in Malaysia. Lusail hosted MotoGP last weekend without major problems, although both Yamaha teams withdrew because of the geopolitical situation.