Formula 1 will not decide until the middle of September whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix can go ahead, and if they cannot, the 2026 season will end somewhere in Europe rather than anywhere further afield.
Stefano Domenicali laid out the timeline in a media call at the start of the summer break. As of now, both Middle East rounds remain on the schedule, but the ongoing war has left them in doubt.
"If the situation will not be clearer the way that we believe it should be before middle of September, we will make the decision," the F1 president and CEO said.
The fallback is not a mystery, even if the venue is. "In that case, the end of the season will be in Europe, because we cannot go to other places. So the season finale will eventually be in Europe," Domenicali told reporters including GPblog. "There are some possibilities on the table, but I don't think it's right to make some promises or anticipate certain things. That's the situation as of now."
Pressed on Imola, he was careful to keep the door open without walking through it: "Where the European race will be hosted, Imola is in the basket, but is not defined as Imola. It is the place."
The BBC's Andrew Benson, reporting from the Hungaroring, has Imola as the most likely destination if the two Gulf races fall away, with Portimao and Istanbul Park also under consideration but considerably further down the list. Both Portuguese and Turkish venues have construction work to finish before their scheduled 2027 returns, and dropping a race on them in early December would make that job harder, not easier.
That timing raises the obvious objection: a European race weekend in late November or December. Domenicali does not accept the premise.
"If I look at the temperature statistics in Europe during that period, it is less cool than the average temperature in Las Vegas while we are racing there," he said. "These are the numbers, I'm just telling you what we can share. No one knows what the temperature will be or what the weather will be like."
Staying in the United States after Las Vegas would have solved the logistics and the climate question in one move. F1 has ruled it out, and for a reason that has nothing to do with racing.
"Of course, in that period of the year we are fighting in the U.S. against the NFL," Domenicali said. "That is a major sport. A lot of fans are watching that, so we need to avoid any kind of situation that would put us in front of something that, of course, is still very big in the US."
Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein reached the same conclusion from the other direction. Asked by Speed City Broadcasting whether Austin could absorb an extra date, he was polite but unenthusiastic.
"Well, I think we're happy with what we're doing now and our schedule is pretty full, so I don't think it's possible that it would happen after Vegas this year," Epstein said. "But the world's a dynamic place and if we can accommodate and help our partners with F1 we would do it. But I don't think that's on the cards this year."
The arithmetic behind all of this matters more than the destination. RACER's Chris Medland reports F1 wants at least 22 races held this season, partly for sporting integrity and partly for contracts. Benson puts the hard floor at 21, below which clauses activate that could force F1 to repay rights fees to broadcasters, with similar exposure for teams on sponsorship deals.
Domenicali called the Malaysia arrangement proof of concept. "Once again, the sport has demonstrated its ability to adapt, find solutions, and deliver, creating an exciting moment for everyone who follows Formula 1," he said when the switch was confirmed.
For 2027, the target has not moved. "We have different plans with different options ready in place that will accommodate the fact that we will keep, in any case, the target of 24 Grands Prix for next year," Domenicali said. Portugal and Turkey are already confirmed on that calendar, which is expected in autumn.
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*Originally published on [Formula 1 News](https://newsformula.one/article/f1-season-finale-heads-to-europe-if-qatar-and-abu-dhabi-fall). Visit for full coverage.*