This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 1h ago
F1 boss reveals 2026 calendar plans should Qatar and Abu Dhabi be cancelled
Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali has revealed that the 2026 season will end in Europe should end-of-season rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi be cancelled owing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East .
Domenicali added that the sport has a rough deadline of the “middle of September” before they will look at alternative arrangements to their usual final two rounds in Qatar (29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December).
F1 has already been forced to cancel rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April due to the ongoing US-Iran war, which started in February and continues after unsuccessful long-term ceasefire talks.
Abu Dhabi has hosted the season finale for over a decade (Getty)
However, the sport has added a race in Malaysia in October – which will be known as the Bahrain Grand Prix due to funding and contractual reasons – and has plans in place to avoid the number of races dropping below the current number of 23.
“We will take the maximum time to see how the situation develops; we won’t decide before the middle of September,” Domenicali said on a conference call on Wednesday. The Italian executive also insisted that Las Vegas will not host two races, as has been speculated.
“Today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed and are already sold out. If the situation is not clear before the middle of September, we will take the decision. If the races are not possible, the end of the season will be in Europe because we can’t go to other places.”
The Independent understands that Imola, near Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, is the most likely venue to host an end-of-season race. Turkey and Portugal, two countries re-joining the calendar in 2027, are other alternatives, while discussions have taken place with Hockenheim in Germany too.
“There are some possibilities on the table, but it’s not right to make some promises; that’s the situation of today,” Domenicali added. “I hope it will not be the case – but if it is, we’ll finish the championship in Europe.
“We would need to look at the Brexit-related documentation in the UK and then go to another place. The only possibility to finish in Europe in that timeframe.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed a replacement race in Malaysia (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)
“We hope there’s no snow! The weather should allow us to race in Europe even in the beginning of December.”
F1 announced on Sunday that the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, which last hosted a race in 2017, will return for a one-off race on 4 October, sandwiched in between rounds in Azerbaijan and Singapore. Domenicali praised the various F1 stakeholders for their willingness to add another round to the calendar.
“We are creative enough to keep the calendar alive,” he said. “This is not a long-term approach; we need to be credible and consistent.
“I really hope the war [in the Middle East] will allow us to go back to a normal situation. What we did with Bahrain and Malaysia is fantastic.
F1 will race in Malaysia for the first time in nine years (Getty)
“But for me as a human being, I hope the situation will allow us to host races in the places we have selected in our championship.”
Bahrain is provisionally slated to host the 2027 season-opener next March, but Domenicali noted that the sport has plenty of time before alternative arrangements need to be made for next year.
He added that negotiations for a long-awaited race in Africa – with South Africa, Rwanda and Morocco all options on the table – are “progressing well”, with Argentina, Thailand and South Korea other interested parties.
The next race of the 2026 season is the final iteration of the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort on 23 August.
QatarAbu DhabiFormulaMiddle East FormulaStefano DomenicaliEuropeMiddle EastDomenicaliBahrainSaudi ArabiaIranGetty
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