RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesFormula One is seriously considering shifting its season finale as the U.S.–Iran war continues in the Middle East.
F1 president Stefano Domenicali told reporters on Wednesday that the finale of the 2026 season will be hosted in Europe if the “situation will not be cleared the way that we believe it should be.” The last two races on the calendar are in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
“For us today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed,” Domenicali said. “By the way, they are already sold out.”
He added that the deadline to make a decision is in the “middle of September.”
F1 was slated to have a record-tying 24 races to start the season, but that quickly changed after races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled in March and April , respectively, due to the war.
Earlier this week, F1 announced that the Bahrain Grand Prix will return to the calendar in October, but it will be hosted at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia . No replacement has been named for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Should the final two races be canceled, the 2026 F1 season would finish at 21 races, which is reportedly enough to meet the minimum requirements of its commercial contracts . But Domenicali appears determined to add or replace at least one more race.
F1’s last race before the final doubleheader in the Middle East is in Las Vegas, the third U.S. race this season, which is scheduled for late November. Domenicali said hosting back-to-back races in Las Vegas was a “possibility,” but confirmed they “will not do another race in the U.S.”
“We are fighting the U.S. against NFL and we need to avoid any kind of situation that would put us in front of something that is still very big in the U.S.,” Domenicali said.
Domenicali said that a race in Imola, Italy, is a possible candidate to hold the season finale. The Imola Grand Prix was dropped from the calendar this year to make way for the debuting Madrid Grand Prix.
As for next year, the F1 president said the target is to still hit 24 races. He said F1 has until the end of the year to review the situation in the Middle East before finalizing its 2027 calendar, but that other options outside the region are also available.
Domenicali added that there has been movement with hosts in Africa, Asia, and South America.
“We have more requests in China, and Japan, but for the moment we want to stay with one race in China because we need to consolidate the market before thinking to have another option there,” he said.
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