QATAR IS HANDED VACANT SLOT

FORMULA ONE will stage its first Qatar Grand Prix in November to fill the vacant slot left by the cancelled race in Australia.

The race will take place at Losail International Circuit, 20 miles north of Doha, on November 21.

With Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi hosting the concluding rounds of the campaign on

December 5 and December 12 respectively, the latest move means the championship battle between Britain’s Lewis Hamilton (left) and Dutch driver Max Verstappen will end with races in the Middle East.

The Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix (Nov 7 and 14) are still set to go ahead, despite both countries being on the UK’s travel red list.