MPH: F1’s Middle East promises need a pinch of salt

F1
Mark Hughes
October 28, 2026

Mark Hughes asks whether F1’s insistence that the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix will go ahead can survive the realities of the Middle East conflict

Is F1 really going to visit the middle east in this time of regional conflict for the season-ending Qatar and Abu Dhabi grands prix? At the time of writing it is insisting it is. You may recall that last week FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was assuring the world that he had no safety concerns about the sport visiting the region and that his own children were there. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has reiterated several times that the races are scheduled to happen. The teams have all been told to assume they are going and to plan accordingly. Meanwhile several US and European airlines have halted flights to the region and at the time of writing the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi was running with emergency staff only after an order departure for non-emergency personnel. With MotoGP set to be racing in Qatar November 6-8, the riders took a vote this weekend at Philip Island and two-thirds were against making the trip. Carlos Sainz was his usual composed but forthright self in the COTA Thursday press conference when asked for his thoughts on the situation. “I think they seem very convinced that it's going to go ahead. I think on my personal side, and not speaking as the GPDA, it's very difficult to be convinced right now because there are still things happening in the Middle East, and also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen on the political side of the world that could affect the next month, month and a half, very suddenly. “So, I think it's relatively premature to be so convinced. But as it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi. If the FIA and Formula 1 decide that it’s still a safe and good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say. It's not like we have as much political information, as much inside information as they have, for sure. 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, one month and a half, and we need to stay diligent and reactive to whatever happens and not just go because we want to go right now… But about political matters, realistically, none of us have the information and the contacts that F1 and the FIA have.” So, a position of, ‘it sounds like a risky idea but if you are insisting you must know something that we don’t.’ Very soon after Sainz’s appearance in the press conference, he issued a further statement. “Following some reporting of my comments in the press conference earlier today about ending the season in the middle east, I want to be clear that I know the FIA and F1 will put safety first and completely trust them to make the right decision. We look forward to racing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.” It is not difficult to discern the line of pressure which will have been applied to Sainz by F1 to issue that clarification. The situation is obviously extremely delicate. So we’re going? Not necessarily. Even aside from any changes in what is obviously a highly volatile external situation, there is the question of who pays if a race is cancelled? Between the two races we are talking of a figure well in excess of £100 million. If F1 cancels, it doesn’t get the hosting revenue. If an organiser cancels, F1 gets compensation. Who blinks first? And what if no-one blinks, it all goes ahead and something bad happens? It would be difficult to argue it wasn’t foreseeable. For that reason, it’s equally difficult to imagine F1 really does mean to go. But for financial reasons it needs to insist that it intends to go. Until the last possible moment- and with Imola being prepared in parallel. So we need to take the official insistences that the races are happening with a pinch of salt

Will Qatar and Abu Dhabi happen? That's still an unanswered question

Grand Prix Photo

Mark Hughes
October 28, 2026

Is F1 really going to visit the Middle East at this time of regional conflict for the season-ending Qatar and Abu Dhabi grands prix? At the time of writing, it is insisting it is.

You may recall that last week FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was assuring the world that he had no safety concerns about the sport visiting the region and that his own children were there. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has reiterated several times that the races are scheduled to happen. The teams have all been told to assume they are going and to plan accordingly.

Meanwhile, several US and European airlines have halted flights to the region, and at the time of writing the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi was running with emergency staff only after an order to depart for non-emergency personnel. With MotoGP set to be racing in Qatar November 6-8, the riders took a vote this weekend at Philip Island, and two-thirds were against making the trip.

Carlos Sainz was his usual composed but forthright self in the COTA Thursday press conference when asked for his thoughts on the situation. “I think they seem very convinced that it’s going to go ahead. I think on my personal side, and not speaking as the GPDA, it’s very difficult to be convinced right now because there are still things happening in the Middle East, and also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen on the political side of the world that could affect the next month, month and a half, very suddenly.

Carlos Sainz Jr (Williams-Mercdes) before the 2026 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin

Sainz spoke about the uncertainty of the Middle East races, then backtracked

Grand Prix Photo

“So, I think it’s relatively premature to be so convinced. But as it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi. If the FIA and Formula 1 decide that it’s still a safe and good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say. It’s not like we have as much political information, as much inside information as they have, for sure. 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, one month and a half, and we need to stay diligent and reactive to whatever happens and not just go because we want to go right now… But about political matters, realistically, none of us have the information and the contacts that F1 and the FIA have.”

So, a position of, ‘it sounds like a risky idea but if you are insisting you must know something that we don’t.’ Very soon after Sainz’s appearance in the press conference, he issued a further statement. “Following some reporting of my comments in the press conference earlier today about ending the season in the Middle East, I want to be clear that I know the FIA and F1 will put safety first and completely trust them to make the right decision. We look forward to racing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”

Related article

It is not difficult to discern the line of pressure which will have been applied to Sainz by F1 to issue that clarification. The situation is obviously extremely delicate.

So we’re going? Not necessarily. Even aside from any changes in what is obviously a highly volatile external situation, there is the question of who pays if a race is cancelled. Between the two races, we are talking of a figure well in excess of £100 million. If F1 cancels, it doesn’t get the hosting revenue. If an organiser cancels, F1 gets compensation. Who blinks first? And what if no-one blinks, it all goes ahead and something bad happens?

It would be difficult to argue it wasn’t foreseeable. For that reason, it’s equally difficult to imagine F1 really does mean to go. But for financial reasons, it needs to insist that it intends to go. Until the last possible moment- and with Imola being prepared in parallel.

So we need to take the official insistences that the races are happening with a pinch of salt.

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Mark Hughes

Grand Prix editor

In previous lives Mark raced cars, worked at Jim Russell racing school, got a university degree which he never used, tried working in industry, didn’t like it, left and joined Motoring News in 1988 as a junior club race reporter. Went freelance in ’96, concentrated on F1 from 2000. Grand Prix editor of Autosport for 10 years.

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