Arab state Qatar is pushing to become F1’s next new host.
The Losail circuit, built in 2004 and located just outside the capital Doha, already stages a night race for MotoGP.
And the president of Qatar’s motor racing federation, Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, has revealed that Losail is bidding "to get the license which would allow us to host F1 teams for pre-season testing and other activities.
"F1 race director Charlie Whiting was here to inspect the Losail circuit," he said. "He was impressed with what he saw."
The AFP news agency quoted Al Attiyah as saying pre-season testing for the 2013 season, and ’eventually a grand prix’, is Qatar’s goal.