– Whether Formula 1 can race in the Middle East in 2026 remains uncertain. The races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had to be canceled, and the events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of the season face the same threat.
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For 2026, Formula 1 already has a plan: The Bahrain Grand Prix will be held 6,000 kilometers away in Malaysia, and if the last two Middle East races cannot take place, the season would end in Europe, as Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali announced.
But what no one has talked about so far: What if the political situation has not calmed down enough in 2027 to allow racing in the Arab region? Although that sounds far away, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are likely planned again for the spring – even though there is no official calendar for 2027 yet.
That means that in about eight months, Formula 1 would face the same problem it had this year and still will have.
When the new Formula 1 calendar for 2027 is published in the near future, according to Domenicali, it will initially be “a kind of normal plan” regardless of the situation – that is, as it would be published without considering the problems.
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Photo gallery: Formula 1 races that had to be canceled
“But if the situation in the Middle East is not resolved, of course we have options and another plan,” emphasizes the Italian. However, he cannot say anything concrete: “We have different plans with various ready options that take into account the fact that we will definitely maintain the goal of 24 races for next year as well.”
However, it will probably take some time before a decision is made in this regard, as Formula 1 is also waiting until mid-September for Qatar and Abu Dhabi – that is, two and a half months before the planned date.
The cancellations for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2026 came only one month in advance – but without a planned replacement. That will be avoided for the coming year but will also require reacting earlier accordingly. “The trigger for this is at the end of the year,” says Domenicali. “So we still have, if I may say so, plenty of time for adjustments.”
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However, he hopes it will not come to that – and not just from Formula 1’s perspective: “I think if the situation in this region is not resolved for next year, that is a side issue for F1 that we should only worry about marginally because the overall situation would then be very, very, very, very bad.”
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