Qatar Airways has been unveiled as the official airline and global partner of Formula 1.
The announcement sees the partnership run for five years through the 2027 season. The partnership will feature across title races in 2023 alone, including the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the MotoGP Grand Prix.
Qatar Airways will offer customers holiday packages, allowing fans from around the globe to attend Formula 1 events. On top of that, these packages will include special guided tours, pit lane walks and access to some of the skilful and special F1 drivers.
The best partnerships thrive because of mutual values. Both Qatar Airways and Formula 1® are global brands that share a passion for innovation, precision and luxury. As a brand, we believe in the power of sports to unite people, and as such, we have been selective with picking the most thrilling sporting events and sponsoring a variety of new and prominent sporting initiatives.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker
The joint announcement has come under heavy scrutiny following Formula 1’s continued persistence with its “we race as one” initiative. This initiative aims to open up Formula 1 and racing to everyone, regardless of sexuality, race, gender and more. Due to the partnership with Qatar Airways, some believe this negates any efforts of the initiative to open racing up to all.
The pair have announced they’ll work together to be as sustainable as possible. This will be done through the airline and F1 looking to find ways to reduce the environmental impact of their respective industries. Responsible practices will be executed to address this continued concern.
As there will be 23 stops during the 2023 F1 World Championship, Akbar Al Baker says there was a requirement for an airline that was present across major global destinations. Qatar Airways, he believes was, therefore the natural choice.
