Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali announced that if the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix cannot be held due to the Middle East conflict, the 2026 season will end in Europe instead [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The final two rounds, scheduled for November 29 in Qatar and December 6 in Abu Dhabi, are currently confirmed and sold out. "For us today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed. By the way, they are already sold out," Domenicali said [1]. A decision on whether these events will proceed is expected by mid-September 2026, with Domenicali adding, "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" [4].
The 2026 season faced disruption earlier after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, originally scheduled for April, were canceled due to the ongoing US-Israel war involving Iran [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Bahrain's race has been rescheduled to October 4 at Malaysia's Sepang circuit, with Bahrain covering most of the costs [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
With the Middle East rounds in jeopardy, the Imola circuit in Italy is considered a leading candidate to host the season finale if the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds are canceled [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Stefano Domenicali stated, "If this will not be possible, the end of the season will be in Europe because we cannot go in other places" [2].
There had been discussions about holding two consecutive races in Las Vegas, but this plan was dropped to avoid harming the event's growth and to prevent competition with the NFL season, which runs concurrently. Domenicali remarked, "There was a possibility of having two races in Las Vegas but we don't want to ruin a jewel that is growing. And of course, we don't have to forget that in that period of the year, we are fighting in the US against the NFL" [1].
The World Endurance Championship also adjusted its schedule, moving its Qatar and Bahrain rounds to Barcelona and Monza in October and November 2026, respectively [2, 3, 4, 5].
The 2027 Formula 1 calendar has not been published but is expected to maintain 24 races, with Bahrain anticipated to reopen as the season opener [2, 3, 6]. The 2026 season will start in Bahrain instead of Australia, moving back due to Ramadan timing considerations [1, 2].
The next major deadline is the mid-September 2026 decision on whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix will proceed as planned [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
