FIA issue official statement as drivers’ meeting CANCELLED at Qatar Grand Prix

The FIA have announced that a key feature of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend has been cancelled.

Formula 1 heads to Qatar this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2024 season, with the Lusail International Circuit also hosting the final sprint race of the season.

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While Max Verstappen has already claimed the drivers' championship title, there is still much to play for in the final two races, including a three-way fight in the constructors' championship.

Verstappen's closest championship challenger Lando Norris is trying to help his McLaren team claim their first constructors' title since 1998, with the Woking outfit sat 24 points ahead of Ferrari and 53 points ahead of reigning champions Red Bull.

FIA officially announce cancellation

The competitive action in Qatar got underway on Friday, with a thrilling sprint qualifying session to set the grid for Saturday's sprint race.

With a maximum of 15 points up for grabs for a team, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull were scrambling to finish as high up as possible to try and gain a vital few points in their constructors' championship scrap.

Following the sprint qualifying session, however, new FIA race director Rui Marques revealed that a key aspect of Friday's schedule had been cancelled.

An official FIA statement read: "The driver's meeting scheduled 1.5 hours after the end of sprint qualifying, as per article 20.1 of the FIA Formula One sporting regulations, is cancelled."

The FIA asked the teams if there were any additional problems that needed discussing, and with no request forthcoming, the meeting was subsequently cancelled.

There was a previous drivers' meeting after FP1 that took place, along with the annual drivers' meeting with stewards and FIA officials on Thursday that was said to be 'productive' and held in 'good spirit'.

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