Qatari duo to get their first taste of F1 World Championship

Doha, Qatar: Qatar's Yousuf Al Khulaifi and Ahmad Al Fayyad will get their first taste of a full F1 World Championship Grand Prix, when they prepare to tackle the Grand Prix of Portugal in Portimao this weekend.

The Qatari duo were permitted to run for one lap in last month's Qatar Grand Prix, but have since been racing in the US to bring their licences up to the required level and will join Jay Price in Qatar's Portugal team line-up.

"Both Yousuf and Ahmad acquitted themselves very well in Doha and showed a good turn of speed," admitted Mohammad Al Jaidah, head of Formula Racing at the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF).

"They did two races in America after the Qatar race and are now ready for a full F1 race in Portugal."

Former Qatar Team F1 racer Mohammad Al Ali, who was forced to cut short his racing career after a crash in Doha, has now been appointed as Qatar's new F1 Team Manager, with former F1 manager Pelle Larsson, from Sweden, handed the challenging role of developing various levels of Formula racing within the QMSF.

Positions

UIM F1 World Championship Round 1 of 9:

• 1. Jonas Andersson (S) F1 Team Sweden 20 pts
• 2. Jay Price (QA) Qatar Team 15 pts
• 3. David Trask (AUS) Trask Brothers Racing 12 pts
• 4. Sami Selio (FIN) Woodstock Red Devil Racing 9 pts
• 5. Guido Cappellini (I) Tamoil F1 Team 7 pts