Formula 1 News: Qatar, Abu Dhabi will happen says Domenicali<\/a><\/p>\nHe added that he would also be comfortable sending FIA personnel to the races, while stressing that contingency plans remain available if the situation changes.<\/p>\n
That confidence comes despite the deteriorating regional picture, with several sporting events already cancelled or postponed and Imola still lined up as the possible Formula 1 fallback.<\/p>\n
Ben Sulayem was notably more cautious about January\u2019s Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cUp to now we are there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ask me \u2018is it going to happen?\u2019, I don\u2019t know. If you tell me \u2018is it going to be cancelled?\u2019, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen, who had previously expressed clear reservations about racing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi under the wrong conditions, has also softened his tone.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he could boycott the races, he replied: \u201cI said that I didn\u2019t want to race there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just said that I love going there, but, of course, under the right terms. But I trust that F1 and then the FIA will take the right decision because they will have more information than us, and that\u2019s what we rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pressed again on whether a boycott was off the table, Verstappen said: \u201cLike I said, I trust that they make the right call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
Press Release
\nFIA Opens New Remote Operations Center at Biggin Hill Ushering in a New Era for F1 Race Management<\/p>\n
The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de l\u2019Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has today officially opened its new Remote Operations Centre (ROC) at Biggin Hill, U.K., marking a significant investment in the technology, infrastructure, and people that underpin the FIA Formula One World Championship.<\/p>\n
With Formula 1 and global motor sport experiencing an extraordinary period of growth, the new ROC is the result of close collaboration between the FIA and Formula 1\u00a0that will ensure the continued delivery of the highest possible standards of race management, continuing to protect the fairness, safety and integrity of competition for everyone involved.<\/p>\n
The relocation to a modern, state-of-the-art facility within F1\u2019s Biggin Hill campus represents a significant multi-million-pound investment by the FIA in the future of race officiating.<\/p>\n
The facility will provide around-the-clock support to FIA Race Control and Stewards during Grand Prix weekends for F1, F2 and F3. Enabling improved speed, accuracy and consistency of support, the new facility is integral to strengthening race operations and will play an important role in developing the next generation of FIA officials through the High Performance Programme (HPP), nurturing talent and strengthening expertise across the sport.<\/p>\n
One of the four pillars of FIA Race Operations, the ROC works alongside Race Control, Systems Operations and the Stewards to\u00a0strengthen race management and enhance decision-making.<\/p>\n
During Grand Prix weekends, ROC analysts process live data, from more than 140 audio and video feeds, car positioning telemetry and team radio communications, acting as a support and review resource to inform decision-making by FIA officials.\u00a0The ROC supports Race Control by identifying and assessing potential infringements such as jump starts, incorrect grid positioning, track limits violations, pit lane offences and compliance with stop-and-go penalties.<\/p>\n
Innovative AI-assisted shape recognition, computer vision, and automated radio message tagging help the team to flag potential incidents. The facility also plays an important role in post-event reviews that will help refine future rules and train the next generation of Race Control operators.<\/p>\n
The ROC inauguration ceremony was attended by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali, FIA Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Sporting Director Tim Malyon, FIA ROC Team Leader & Regulations Specialist Steve Porter, and members of the ROC operations team. The event celebrated not only the opening of this landmark new facility, but also a shared commitment by the FIA and FOG to ensure the highest standards of sporting governance at the pinnacle of motor sport.<\/p>\n
The new facility has been fully operational since the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix, providing more efficient connectivity with the circuit and greater operational capability, with up to 16 staff working during race weekends.<\/p>\n
This investment extends far beyond technology, with the facility also supporting the FIA\u2019s High Performance Programme for Officials (HPP), which has offered Stewards and Race Directors from across the world personalised training and a clear pathway to FIA World Championship level since 2023.<\/p>\n
Together, the ROC and the HPP are helping the FIA build a stronger, more diverse pool of officials, future-proofing race operations.<\/p>\n
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, said: \u201cThe inauguration of our new Remote Operations Centre represents an important milestone in the continued evolution of the FIA Formula One World Championship and our commitment to delivering the highest standards of safety, fairness and integrity across our sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the Championship grows globally, it is vital that we continue to invest in the people, technology and infrastructure that underpin world-class race operations. This state-of-the-art facility will strengthen our ability to support accurate, consistent and efficient decision-making, ensuring that our sport continues to operate at the highest possible standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is also a powerful example of what we can achieve through collaboration. I would like to thank Stefano Domenicali and our partners at FOG for their continued support, alongside the dedicated FIA teams whose expertise and professionalism are fundamental to the success of our sport. Together, we are investing in a stronger, safer and fairer future for motor sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said:\u00a0\u201cThe opening of the FIA\u2019s Remote Operations Centre at our Formula 1 Media & Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, the home of our international broadcast, is an important step forward for our sport and our fans. It demonstrates what we can achieve when Formula 1 and the FIA work closely together with a shared ambition to deliver the highest standards across our sport.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This world-leading facility will support the FIA\u2019s trackside activities across Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3, strengthening the operations that are essential to fair and consistent competition. I would like to congratulate Mohammed Ben Sulayem and the entire FIA team on delivering this centre. We look forward to welcoming them to Biggin Hill and continuing our close collaboration to build a stronger future for our sport.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says he is comfortable with Formula 1 finishing its season in Qatar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-941195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=941195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}