Wolff’s intervention is an unusually direct crossover into another motorsport’s internal fight. Speaking at the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday, the Austrian backed FOM chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on the decision to go ahead with F1’s Middle East double-header, and openly questioned the judgement of the MotoGP paddock in doing the opposite.
“If riders stand up, who geopolitically know nothing about what’s going on, but have the audience that listens, I think that is something that creates media value,” he told reporters, speaking to Crash.net and the rest of the Interlagos press pool.
A rider revolt Yamaha turned into a walkout
The context is a paddock mutiny. 19 of MotoGP’s 22 regular riders signed a protest letter opposing the trip to the Losail International Circuit, with Marco Bezzecchi, Johann Zarco and Ai Ogura the only names missing from the document, according to Grande Prêmio.
Yamaha then pulled out entirely. Factory riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins and Pramac pair Jack Miller and Augusto Fernández will sit out the race, the manufacturer confirmed on the evening of 2 November, hours after the Malaysian Grand Prix, citing company-wide travel restrictions for the Middle East and Japanese government guidance against non-essential travel to the country.
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Unease inside the MotoGP paddock traces back to the broader regional security picture around the Gulf, including the US-Iran tensions and the wider conflict that have unsettled travelling staff since the start of the year.
F1 heads for the same corner of the map
F1’s calendar lands on the same Losail circuit three weeks after the bikes. The Qatar Grand Prix is scheduled for 29 November, with Abu Dhabi closing the season at Yas Marina on 6 December, F1 and the FIA have confirmed.
Wolff told reporters in Brazil that Formula 1 was following the international guidelines on travel restrictions, airline operations and regional warnings, and that no Mercedes staff member had raised an internal objection. He added that he would not force anyone onto the plane.
“You want to ride or drive, go. If you don’t want to, don’t go, as simple as that,” he said.
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Losail twice in a month
MotoGP’s Qatar round is due to run first, with Yamaha’s grid spots vacant. F1’s own trip to Losail follows on 29 November, with Abu Dhabi closing the season on 6 December.
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