Carlos Sainz casts doubt on F1 season ending in Middle East with ‘premature’ verdict

Carlos Sainz has admitted it is “difficult to be convinced” that the 2026 Formula 1 season will definitely finish in the Middle East as planned amid the ongoing conflict. 

The situation remains volatile in the region amid the US-Israel war with Iran, while separate to that conflict, the US State Department has ordered some diplomats and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as attacks by Houthi rebels escalate.

Despite the uncertainty in the Gulf, F1’s governing body is adamant in its stance that the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will go ahead as scheduled. 

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem insisted the two races “are going to happen” based on the information and advice F1 had been given as of Tuesday 20 October.  

While the US-Israel war with Iran has not been in the headlines as much of late, there are suggestions attacks could once again increase following the US midterm elections on 3 November. 

Sainz, who is a director of the F1 drivers’ association, the GPDA, conceded that it is impossible to be certain how the situation will develop. 

"They seem very convinced that it's going to go ahead. I think on my personal side, and not speaking as a GPDA, it's very difficult to be convinced right now because there's still plenty of things happening in the Middle East,” the Williams driver said in Thursday’s press conference ahead of the United States Grand Prix. 

"And also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen in the political side of the world that could affect the next month and a half very suddenly. So I think it's relatively premature to be so convinced.

"As it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi and if the FIA and Formula 1 decide that's still safe and a good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say. 

"It's not like we don't have as much inside information as they have, so we need to follow their lead and trust in their decision making.

"But only as it stands, I think the world can change a lot in the next month and a half. So we need to be [reactive] to whatever happens and not just go because we want to go right now.” 

Fellow drivers Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar, who were in the press conference alongside Sainz, were less vocal on the matter. 

"There’s been difficult situations in the past through conflicts and and all kinds of things, so we’ll put our trust in F1 and the FIA and we'll listen to their advice,” was Piastri’s response. 

Hadjar, meanwhile, simply said: “Not much to add. It's out of my control, so I'll drive on the track I need to drive, and that's it.”