War in the Middle East, Domenicali admits: “There is a deadline, but we have a plan B”

The war (also) puts F1 in check. It seems that there is a certain reluctance to admit it, even in the face of the obvious: the war between Iran, the United States and Israel, with the obvious repercussions on the entire Persian Gulf region, as well as having led to the cancellation – or rather, the postponement to a later date – of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs, concretely puts at risk the regular running of other races still scheduled in the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. That’s how it initially sounded Silverstone’s self-nomination for a second GP is a bit strange, in case it becomes necessary to fill some other void potentially caused by the conflict in the Middle East. However, now the CEO of F1, Stefano Domenicali, has also admitted this possibility. F1, Stefano Domenicali’s admission During a long interview granted to the American newspaper specializing in economics and finance, CNBC, Domenicali candidly recounted the challenges that F1 is forced to face related to the current complex geopolitical contingency, and not only in terms of the calendar: “We had to cancel the first two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but obviously now we have to wait, because we have two races scheduled for the end of the year in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. As you can imagine, we have to wait and see how the situation will evolve.” In this case, however, the GP paddock should not be caught unprepared and therefore provide for the possible addition of other (European?) races on the calendar: “We have a deadline by which we will have to decide whether or not the situation will allow us to go racing in those countries. We hope so, as is easy to imagine even when looking at the picture as a whole, but, on the other hand, it is our duty as a global sport to have an alternative option ready. And of course we have it. But, as I was saying, now the greatest impact our business is affected more than anything else by the increase in fuel and logistics costs.” “We are a global sport and we travel all over the world and the main challenges we face these days are these,” concluded F1 boss Stefano Domenicali.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-01 22:00:00