F1 CEO Domenicali: Season will end in Europe if Qatar and Abu Dhabi races are cancelled

F1 will not host another US race to avoid oversaturating the market

Negotiations progressing for new races in Africa, South America and Asia

France and Germany are not closed off from returning to the schedule in the future

Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has confirmed the season will end in Europe if races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were not able to go ahead earlier in the year due to the disruption, which has also affected other motorsport series.

The World Endurance Championship (WEC) this week announced that its final two races of the season in Bahrain and Qatar will instead move to Spain and Italy, hinting at the likelihood that Formula One will have to do the same.

“If [the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi] will not be possible, the end of the season will be in Europe because we cannot go in other places,” Domenicali told select media, including Blackbook Motorsport, following the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Domenicali said a decision would be finalised before the middle of September and although he did not expand on specific locations, speculation suggests that Imola is under serious consideration to temporarily return to the schedule as this year’s season finale.

Formula One highlighted its adaptability during the Covid pandemic by pulling off a 17-race schedule, and it recently secured the return of the Bahrain Grand Prix to this year’s calendar. The Sepang International Circuit Malaysia will act as the host of the event.

Domenicali did not confirm whether a potential European finale would adopt the same commercial framing as the relocated Bahrain race, which will retain its traditional title despite being held in a different country.

The original end to this season was a triple-header starting in Las Vegas, which prompted speculation about the series remaining in the US to end the season. However Domenicali revealed they want to avoid oversaturating the market given there are already three American Grands Prix on the schedule.

“I can guarantee to you that we will not do any other race in the US,” he said. “There was a possibility of having two races in Las Vegas, but we don’t want to ruin a jewel that is growing by undervaluing what we are doing there.

“And of course don’t forget that in that period of the year we are fighting against NFL [the National Football League]. … We need to avoid any kind of situation that would put us in front of something that is still very big in the US.

“Therefore, considering the constraints that we have, we need to go back to close all the Brexit-connected documentation from abroad in the UK and then go to another place … the only possibility [is] to finish in Europe.”

While Europe is the only realistic option this year, Domenicali also revealed that the championship is still receiving many requests to host Grands Prix all around the world.

“Negotiations are progressing very well in Africa … we are having other discussions in South America, we have discussions in the Far East,” he said in response to a question from BlackBook Motorsport.

“One thing that I can tell you is that we have more requests in China and Japan, but for the moment we want to stay with one race in China because we need to consolidate the market, [make it] stronger before thinking to have another option there.”

Europe remains a core market for Formula One, though, as evidenced by returns to Portimão and Istanbul Park next season, and Domenicali disclosed that the series is not closed off to returning to traditional strongholds that have dropped off the schedule.

“We are not having the Grand Prix of France, not because we don’t want [it]. … My phone is always available to have a race in France, but if they want to do it we are here now,” he said.

“Germany, for the first time, we are reconnected with the possibility … to see if in the future – mid-term, not short-term – they can have a race back.”

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