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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

F1 season-opener in Australia to go ahead amid Gulf attacks but 'Finalissima' in doubt

In charge: Travis Auld - (Getty Images for Australian Grand Prix)

Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld does not expect the Formula One season-opener at Melbourne's Albert Park to be heavily affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

However, the ‘Finalissima’ football match between Spain and ​Argentina in Doha on March 27 is in doubt.

The US and Israeli bombing of Iran over the weekend ⁠was followed by retaliatory strikes on Gulf States, which has affected one of the world's main aviation hubs.

Hundreds of F1 staff, ⁠and thousands of fans, were set to pass through Qatar ​or ⁠the United Arab Emirates on their way to Australia for the grand prix, but Auld is confident all required personnal will be present this weekend.

"No doubts the events of the weekend have thrown out ⁠the travel plans for the teams and F1 themselves," Auld told Fox ​Sports ⁠on Monday.

"F1 are experts at ‌moving people around the world and so they've quickly rescheduled flights. I'm told, everyone's now locked in and arriving within the required timeframes, and ‌so there'll be no impact on our race.

"But ‌it's certainly been a busy 48 hours, particularly for F1."

However, the ‘Finalissima’ is currently unlikely to be held after the Qatar Football Association suspended football tournaments indefinitely.

Euro 2024 winners Spain and Copa America champions Argentina are due to face off at the Lusail Stadium at the end of the month, including world stars Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.

"Qatar Football Association ⁠announces the postponement of all tournaments, ​competitions ⁠and matches, effective from today and until further notice," the association said in a statement on Sunday.

"The ⁠new dates for the resumption of competitions will be announced in ​due ⁠course through the Association's ‌official channels."

The final call on whether to postpone the game rests with event organisers UEFA and CONMEBOL.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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