From England: F1 is thinking about Portimão as early as 2026. It is in pole position if the situation in the Middle East does not improve

2026 calendar, F1’s plan B is Portimão With the war in Iran still ongoing and the summer break approaching, the time to define the second part of the calendar is getting tight. Official communication on the fate of the Middle Eastern races will arrive in the coming weeks, but, according to what was communicated by The-Race, Portimão would be ready to take over one of the last two races of the season, scheduled in Qatar and Abu Dhabi on the weekends of 29 November and 6 December respectively, if it were impossible to confirm these last stages. F1 will wait as long as possible for positive developments in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, otherwise there are concrete options such as the Algarve circuit, which hosted F1 in 2020 and 2021 and will return “as a starter” on the calendar in the next two seasons. Portimão remains a plan-B, because the Circus continues to remain optimistic about the possibility of confirming the scheduled appointments and about achieving peace in the Middle East. It will almost certainly not be possible to “save” all 24 stages initially planned (president Stefano Domenicali admitted this) because there would not be enough holes in the calendar. The range of possibilities available to Liberty Media ranges from the worst-case scenario of at least 20 GPs that we already reported to you in March (in the event that Baku, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, in addition to Bahrain and Jeddah, were to skip) to a calendar realistically of 23 GPs which would make F1 leaders much happier, because it would mean returning to the Middle East in safe conditions. Everything clearly depends on the evolution of the geopolitical situation, but it is clear that the Circus cannot wait for many more weeks. Hence the contacts with Portimão and other venues, while according to British colleagues a double race in Las Vegas (in the event that it does not take place in Qatar) would be difficult as it is close to Thanksgiving Day (26 November).

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-03 10:37:00