F1 boss won’t elaborate on possible 2026 calendar change back-up plans

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has declined to speculate on possible changes to the 2026 calendar, though he confirmed that back-up plans are being formulated.

The focus of late has been on efforts to find a way to have either the Saudi Arabia or Bahrain GPs run this year, after they were cancelled from their April slots due to the war in Iran.

However, clearly, nothing can be decided as long as the conflict in the Middle East continues.

Meanwhile, there remains a possibility that should there be no resolution to the unrest in the region, the races in Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December could also eventually become untenable.

If they are lost, it would leave the 2026 schedule on 20 races, with a finale in Las Vegas currently.

While there was no serious momentum behind replacing Bahrain or Saudi Arabia with new events when they were dropped, a gap at the end of the calendar opens a window that could, in theory, be filled with at least one extra event outside the Middle East, assuming there was enough lead time to make it commercially viable.

However, when asked in a call with Wall Street analysts if a second Las Vegas event could even be an option, Domenicali declined to talk about any possible scenarios for replacement races.

“To be very direct, to avoid any speculation, the only thing I can see that we have plans,” Domenicali said.

“Hopefully not to be applied, because we really hope that the situation for the world, but only for the racing, will go back to a normal situation.

“We have plans, of course. The lead time or the cut-off really is different between the fact that we can eventually recover what has been not run in April versus what could eventually happen or not happen in the end of November, beginning of December.”

Domenicali conceded that there are big consequences for all parties for any changes.

“We are, of course, aligned with the teams, with the promoters, because that's something that has a big chain of reaction. In the due time, we will keep everyone informed.

“But I hope you understand, if we just say something that will be a speculation that we want to avoid, because, as I said, the first hope is to make sure that we go back in the places that we should be."

Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang stressed that the priority is still to revive one of the currently lost events.

"We made the difficult but appropriate decision, together with the FIA and local promoters, not to proceed with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs in April, given the situation in the Middle East,” he said.

“The wellbeing of everyone in F1 comes first, and we always manage the calendar with that principle in mind. While that creates a near-term financial impact, it does not change our confidence in the long-term trajectory of the sport. We will be thoughtful in our approach, and we will continuously evaluate the calendar this year.

“And as Stefano mentioned to Bloomberg News last week, it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season.”

He added: “I think we are evaluating all the various alternatives and trying to make decisions in a timely fashion that will give us as much lead time, to the extent we make changes and make adjustments.”