The 2026 Formula 1 season will end in Europe in the event the final two scheduled races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi need to be relocated because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, F1 president Stefano Domenicali has confirmed.
The sport’s bosses were previously forced to cancel April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and announced over the weekend that the Bahrain Grand Prix will now be hosted by Malaysia in October.
Bahrain’s inability to host the event in October has raised doubts over whether the final two rounds of the season – in Qatar (Nov 27-29) and Abu Dhabi (Dec 4-6) – will be able to go ahead in their planned locations.
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Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Domenicali insisted he is still hopeful of the calendar remaining as it currently stands, and that F1 will wait until its mid-September deadline before making a decision.
“With regard to the end of the season, we are in touch with all the other championships,” Domenicali said. “And I know that, for example, WEC (World Endurance Championship) has announced that they will not go at the end of the year in the Middle East and they will stay in Europe.
“The way that we are structured is that we will take the maximum time for us to see how the situation will develop, and we will take the decision at the right time. That moment would be not before the middle of September.
“For us, today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed. But, of course, if the situation will not be clearer, the way that we believe it should be, before the middle of September, we will take the decision.”
Domenicali explained that the challenges of “Brexit-connected documentation” make Europe the only alternative venue for the final two races, but says there are multiple options within the continent.
“I just want to confirm to you that if this [races in the Middle East] will not be possible, the end of the season will be in Europe, because we cannot go in other places,” he said.
“There are some possibilities on the table, but I don’t think it’s right to make some promises or anticipate certain things, but that’s the situation of today.
“Even if I really hope that it will not be the case, if the situation will not allow for us to be there, we’re going to finish the championship in Europe.”
Imola ‘an option’ | Second Las Vegas race was considered
There has been speculation that Italy’s historic Imola circuit is the front-runner to host if needed, but Domenicali said the track is “an option, but is not defined” as a would-be replacement venue.
It remains possible that Imola and another venue could act as replacement hosts, with Formula 1 keen to get as close to the originally planned 24-round schedule as possible. As it stands, the calendar has been reduced to 23 races with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix lost.
Racing in Europe in late November or early December would come with the risk of cold weather, but Domenicali pointed out that expected temperatures are actually colder for the Las Vegas Grand Prix earlier in November than they are in Europe at that time of year.
The Italian revealed holding a second race in Las Vegas had been considered but overlooked given the risk of undervaluing the event and going up against the hugely popular NFL.
He said: “The fascinating side is that if I look at the statistics of the temperature in Europe in that time, it is less cool than Las Vegas’ average temperature while we are racing.
“It’s definitely something that no one knows where the temperature will go and what the weather will be like. I think that actually we see in this situation of how the pollution of the climate change is happening. There’s no certainty or anything about that.
“There was a possibility of having two races in Las Vegas, but we don’t want to ruin a jewel that is growing by undervaluing what we are doing there.
“And of course, we don’t have to forget that in that period of the year, we are fighting in the US against NFL. That is a major sport that is, I don’t want to say detracting, but a lot of fans are watching that, so we need to avoid any kind of situation that would put us in front of something that of course is quite still very big in the US.”
Any further changes to the calendar could have implications on the title race, which Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli currently leads by 50 points from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with 12 scheduled rounds remaining.
The Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
