This is my guide and tips on the bag policy, entrance gate opening times, what to take (and what not to take) and food and drink at the Qatar Formula 1 Grand Prix held at the Lusail International Circuit.
Contents
Bag Policy
Officially, the bag policy for the Formula 1 race at the Lusail circuit in Qatar is that no bags over 75cm in any dimension are allowed in.
What that means in reality is that you can’t bring your suitcase in to the circuit with you, but backpacks, rucksacks and handbags are absolutely fine. As long as you don’t try and bring in a mega huge travelling rucksack, you’ll be ok and the security staff are unlikely to start measuring your bag.
Entrance Gates
Gate locations
The map below shows the location of the different entrance gates around the Lusail Circuit during the Qatar F1 weekend:
The entry gates are named A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. Gates A and B are on the inside of the circuit and are only for hospitality / VIP guests with paddock access.
Below I’ve listed the closest gate to each grandstand or viewing area. Depending on whether you arrive by public transport or drive and park your car at the circuit, you may have to use certain gates anyway. But here you can see which is closest in case you get a chance to choose:
- Main Grandstand – Gates F, G, H
- North Grandstand – Gates F, G, H
- T2 Grandstand – Gate H
- T3 Grandstand – Gate H
- T16 Grandstand – Gates C, D, E
- Lusail Hill General Admission area – Gate H
There is a free internal shuttle service that runs around the outside of the track, stopping at the different stands. If you enter the circuit on the complete opposite side of the track it can be a long walk, so definitely try and jump on the shuttle if you want to save your steps.
Gate opening times
The Qatar GP gate opening times at the Lusail Circuit are as follows:
- Friday – 12:00 to 22:00
- Saturday – 13:30 to 22:45
- Sunday – 12:00 to 22:00
The circuit remains open later than the listed gate closing times for the evening concerts, but the Fan Zones usually close a short while before the gate closing times.
Still need Qatar GP tickets?
If you still need tickets to the Qatar GP then you can buy them even at the last minute through ViaGoGo. There will be tickets for sale there up until the day of the Grand Prix, even when they’re sold out everywhere else.
Plus ViaGoGo has loads of one-day tickets which you can’t get elsewhere. I usually go for this as they’re cheaper, and it gives you some flexibility to try different grandstands on the different days.
I’ve used ViaGoGo to purchase Formula 1 tickets loads of times over the last few years, including my recent trips to the Canadian and British GPs, and I’ve always had a great experience.
What to bring
Here’s my list of items to consider bringing to the Qatar Grand Prix:
General
- Tickets – digital copies (make sure you’ve already downloaded them to your phone – don’t rely on internet signal at the venue).
- Money – cards and contactless payment
Weather Protection
- Cool clothes for the day time but then some additional warmer layers to put on once the sun sets – it gets cold at night
- Comfortable shoes – you’ll do quite a lot of walking
Electronics
- Fully charged phone
- Battery power bank to re-charge your phone (you are only allowed to bring in 1 each)
- Commentary at the track can be questionable, so you could pay for F1 TV Pro for a month and download the app for the race weekend to allo you to listen to the proper live commentary through your phone and keep up with the action.
- Headphones to connect to your phone
- I found that an additional set of over-head headphones, ideally noise cancelling ones, over the top of your in-ear ones help you to hear the commentary on your inner headphones.
Spectating
- Ear plugs or ear defenders – especially for young children
- Small foldable cushion (useful on grandstand seats to make them more comfortable)
- If you have General Admission tickets, a blanket or small rug to put on the grass of the Hill.
- Bug spray / mosquito repellent
Prohibited items
There are a number of items which you are not allowed to bring in to the circuit:
- Glass containers / bottles
- Food and drink (except baby food)
- More than 1 powerbank
- Camera lenses over 300mm
- Banners or flags over 2m x 1.5m
- Drones
- Umbrellas
- Bags over 75cm in any dimension
- Folding / camping chairs
- Detonators
- Weapons
- Compressed liquified gases
- Drugs
- Aerosols
- Tools
- Electric scooters, bicycles, skateboards
- Animals (except assistance dogs)
- Musical instruments
- Whistles, air horns, megaphones
- Laser pointers
- Binoculars
- Paint
Food & drink at the circuit
You are not allowed to bring your own food and drink in to the circuit unfortunately. You can bring an empty drinks container (not glass) that can be refilled at a number of water stations.
In previous years they’ve also handed out free water in plastic bottles at the track.
The food options are the circuit are ok but not the most exciting or varied. There weren’t that many different vendors last years and the queues for them were huge in between the F1 sessions, so I would try and time it to avoid peak times so you’re not waiting forever. But at least the prices were pretty reasonable.
Here’s are some food and drink prices from last year’s race:
- Chicken Burger 40 QAR – $11
- Beef Taco – 20 QAR – $6
- Chicken Nuggets – 25 QAR – $8
- Fries – 15 QAR – $4
- Churros – 20 QAR – $6
- Americano Coffee – 15 QAR – $4
- Caffe Latte – 19 QAR – $5
- Red Bull – 20 QAR – $6
- Mojito – 25 QAR – $7
- Soft drink – 10 QAR – $3
