Domenicali confirms F1 backup plan for 2026 finale

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the championship already has a fallback if the 2026 season-ending races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi cannot go ahead because of the continuing conflict in the Middle East.

In an interview with L’Équipe, Domenicali said F1 is managing the situation with the same pragmatism it used during the pandemic. “I can confirm that we have a contingency plan,” he said. “And if the two end-of-year races cannot take place because the war is not over, we will have other alternatives.”

The warning comes after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were dropped from their original mid-April slots earlier in the season. Domenicali said those races were withdrawn “so far” because “we knew it wasn’t possible to go there at the time,” with the region still affected by war despite a ceasefire having been in place since early April.

What makes the problem more urgent is how little room F1 has to move. Domenicali said the sport is dealing with “the logistical complexity, the costs,” and stressed that changing the end of the calendar is far harder than in other sports. He said rescheduling both races is “impossible” and that “even rescheduling just one won’t be easy” because there are not many available slots, though he confirmed October 4 remains one possible date.

That leaves F1 trying to balance uncertainty with the need to plan. Domenicali said promoters in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are already selling tickets and that “sales are going very, very well.” He also ruled out Las Vegas on November 22 as the final round, saying: “No, it won’t be the last race on the calendar. I can confirm that.”

The next key deadline appears to be the summer break. RacingNews365 reported that a decision on whether a race can be staged on October 4 is likely needed by August, while separate DAZN reporting outlined one draft scenario that would place Bahrain on October 2-4 between Azerbaijan and Singapore.

That version of the schedule would create a brutal run of 10 races in 13 weeks. Under the sequence discussed by DAZN, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Singapore would form one triple-header, followed later by Austin, Mexico City and Brazil, then Las Vegas, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with Abu Dhabi pushed back to December 20.

F1 has not formally announced any revised calendar, and Domenicali made clear why: the sport can prepare alternatives, but it cannot escape the security, timing and cost constraints that now threaten the shape of its 2026 finish.