F1 now has one less choice for a backup plan for the 2026 season finale.
F1 has just lost one of its three backup plans for the end of the season, as the European option has now been put on hold. With tensions still high in the Middle East and concerns about possible US attacks on Iran, the last two races of the season—in Qatar and Abu Dhabi—are still uncertain. What we do know for sure is that F1 won’t finish the 2026 season in Europe.
The future of the 2026 F1 season has looked uncertain for a while, ever since conflict broke out in the region earlier this year. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled when the US attacked Iran in late February. On top of that, rebel Houthi forces from Yemen have targeted Saudi airports, warning they might shoot at flights passing through—many of which head to places like Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Bahrain managed to reschedule its race to Malaysia, but the Saudi race was cancelled completely. Since then, the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races have been hanging in the balance. Because of this, F1 has been planning other options just in case. The first was to keep the calendar as planned with the two Middle East races. The second was to end the season in Las Vegas, which was originally the third-to-last race.
The third option was to hold one or two Middle East races and then finish the championship at Italy’s Imola track. Known as a classic F1 circuit from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Imola was dropped from the calendar last year after a brief return. The championship was ready to spend around $10-15 million to bring a race there, according to journalist Jonathan Noble.
But now, F1 has told Imola to stop getting ready for a race, feeling more confident that the Middle East races will happen as planned. “We can’t keep Imola waiting forever,” F1 said in a statement. “So today we let them know we won’t need them at the end of the season.”
Even though F1 has told Imola to pause its plans, it doesn’t mean the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races are guaranteed. As things stand, the season will end there, but the championship is ready to cancel if the risks get too high.
Just last week, MotoGP—the motorcycle racing series also owned by Liberty, the same company as F1—held a race in Qatar, even though many riders felt uneasy about traveling there.