F1 boss Stefano Domenicali defends the sport racing in eyebrow-raising Qatar

Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali has defended the sport's presence in Qatar, telling AFP that the sport is an "accelerator for change".

The former Ferrari team boss said there is no correlation with criticism that is overshadowing the build-up to the football World Cup which starts a week on Sunday.

"I've read things about FIFA and Qatar that have nothing to do with our situation with Qatar," he said.

Governments and human rights agencies have pointed the spotlight at Qatar's human rights' record, most recently on Tuesday when a Qatari World Cup ambassador called homosexuality a "damage in the mind" in a German TV interview.

Raising eyebrows

Domenicali, however, speaking to AFP before last week's Mexican Grand Prix, insisted that the Qatar Grand Prix, which debuted in 2021 and returns to the schedule in 2023 on a 10-year contract after missing this year, has a place in the Formula One calendar.

"The (Losail) track has been there for 10 years," he said in an apparent defence of Qatari interest in the sport.

"We must have a very serious approach. We check, when we go to a country, that the promoter respects certain points. If the promoter does not respect them, there are clauses in the contract which can end immediately".

Qatar is not the only venue on next season's record-breaking 24-race calendar to raise eyebrows with regards to human rights. Questions have also been brought up about the rectitude of allowing Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan and China host races.

"We say the same thing every time," said Domenicali who believes that Formula One can be a force for change.

"We are a very open system. There are countries that want to change things, and we think that being there is a spotlight for things to change. We