Formula 1 in the Gulf: Qatar and Abu Dhabi 2026

The Formula 1 season ends in the Gulf this year, with two races a week apart. The Qatar Grand Prix runs under the lights at Lusail from 27 to 29 November, the penultimate round of the championship. Seven days later the circus moves an hour's flight down the coast to Yas Marina for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the season finale, from 3 to 6 December.

For anyone thinking about a late-season race, that pairing is hard to beat. The weather has turned warm rather than scorching, both races run into the evening, and the gap between them is just long enough for a few days in Dubai or on the beach in Abu Dhabi. Plenty of fans and corporate hospitality guests now do the pair as one trip.

Here is how to plan it, and how to make the bits between the racing as smooth as the racing itself.

Qatar Grand Prix: Lusail, 27 to 29 November

Lusail International Circuit sits about 20 kilometres north of central Doha, on the edge of the new city of Lusail. The sessions run into the evening, the crowds build towards sunset, and the race itself finishes late under floodlights. It is a fast, flowing track that rewards commitment, and with the title often still open at this stage of the year, the atmosphere tends to be tense.

Doha itself is worth more than a race weekend. Walk the Corniche in the early morning before the heat builds, visit the Museum of Islamic Art and the National Museum of Qatar, and spend an evening in Souq Waqif for grilled meat, spiced coffee and luqaimat, the small fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup. Katara Cultural Village, Msheireb Downtown and The Pearl fill the rest of the evenings.

For where to stay, West Bay is the business and hotel district, with the Four Seasons and The St. Regis on the water and quick access to the coast road north to Lusail. Mandarin Oriental in Msheireb puts you in the most walkable part of the old city. For the shortest trip to the circuit, Lusail itself now has a cluster of new luxury hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria and the Raffles and Fairmont in the Katara Towers, which is the building shaped like a pair of crossed swords.

The week in between

The flight from Doha to Abu Dhabi or Dubai takes around an hour, which leaves the best part of a week to fill before the finale. Most people split it one of two ways.

The first is Dubai. Early December is one of the best times of year to be there, warm enough for the beach but cool enough to walk outside in the evening. A few days lets you do the obvious things well, from the view at the top of the Burj Khalifa and dinner in the Dubai International Financial Centre to a morning in the old souks of Deira and an afternoon on the beach at Jumeirah. The drive from Dubai to Yas Island takes a little over an hour on a clear road, so some fans simply stay in Dubai for the race weekend too.

The second is to slow down in Abu Dhabi. Saadiyat Island has some of the best beaches in the region and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a museum worth an afternoon even for people who rarely visit museums. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is best seen late in the day as the light changes. Settling in a few days early also means you are already in place when the race weekend traffic builds.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Yas Marina, 3 to 6 December

The season finale at Yas Marina has become one of the biggest weekends on the calendar. Last year it drew a record 339,000 visitors, and the race starts in daylight and finishes under the lights, with the hotel above the track glowing as the cars pass beneath it.

What sets Abu Dhabi apart is what happens after the cars stop. A ticket for the race includes entry to the Yasalam after-race concerts at Etihad Park on Yas Island. Imagine Dragons headline on Saturday 5 December, with Lewis Capaldi and Zara Larsson also on this year's bill, and a Golden Circle upgrade brings you closer to the stage.
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Where you stay shapes the weekend. The W Abu Dhabi on Yas Island is built over the circuit itself, so you can watch from the hotel and walk to the paddock, though rooms for race weekend go very early. The other Yas Island hotels are a short drive or shuttle from the gates. For something calmer, Saadiyat Island has the beach resorts, including the St. Regis and the Park Hyatt, about 20 minutes away. In the city, Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental remains the grand set piece. Wherever you stay, the circuit is a short drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport, which makes arrival and departure easy at either end of the weekend.

Getting around on race weekends

The racing is the easy part. Getting to and from it is where race weekends usually go wrong.

In Qatar, the organisers' own advice is to allow extra time, because traffic around Lusail builds quickly towards sunset. The free car parks fill early, and the public transport route means the metro to Lusail station followed by a shuttle bus to the gates, since you cannot walk from the station to the circuit. After the chequered flag, tens of thousands of people try to leave at once, late at night.

Abu Dhabi is busier still. Shuttles run until 1am, but organisers warn of congestion as fans leave each evening, and the taxi pick-up points near Ferrari World and Yas Mall get busy after the race and again after the concerts. If you are staying in Dubai, the return journey can turn into a long night.

A car and driver takes all of that out of your hands. Your chauffeur meets you at Hamad International or Abu Dhabi International when you land, takes you to the hotel, and drops you as close to the circuit as the race-day traffic plan allows. At the end of the evening, your driver is waiting at an agreed pick-up point, so you leave when you choose rather than when the queue allows. On the days between the races, the same car can take you to the souk, the beach club or dinner, and on to the airport for the short hop to Abu Dhabi.

The price is fixed when you book, so it doesn't rise just when demand on the night is at its highest. For a group sharing a people carrier for the weekend, it costs less per head than most people expect, and it makes a hospitality trip with clients or colleagues run far more smoothly.

Book the cars when you book the tickets

Race weekends in the Gulf sell out early, and the same goes for good cars and drivers. If you are going to Lusail, Yas Marina or both, arrange the ground transport at the same time as the tickets and hotels, and arrive knowing exactly who is meeting you.

Airport Executive provides private chauffeured transfers across Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, from airport meet and greet to cars by the day for race weekends and everything in between.

Book your Qatar transfers here, book your UAE transfers here, or call our reservations team on +44 (0)208 838 3333.

Airport Executive, a better way to travel.