F1 2026

caroper said:
The latest on that is that despite earlier this season when regional disruptions forced F1 to cancel the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and relocate the Bahrain Grand Prix to Malaysia. The 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains officially confirmed to take place on the weekend of 4–6 December 2026 at the Yas Marina Circuit.
However, due to ongoing regional tensions and airspace safety concerns, Formula 1 management has established contingency plans that could relocate the season-ending race to Europe. The race is fully sold out and officially stands as the 24th and final round of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali announced that a final evaluation will be made by mid-September 2026.
If regional flight safety and airspace stability *do not* improve, the final two races (Qatar and Abu Dhabi) will be moved to European venues.
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A European race in December, would have to be some place closer to the Med, else it likely to be very very cold
 
Ecco said:
A European race in December, would have to be some place closer to the Med, else it likely to be very very cold
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F1 cars fitted with Snow Plow's and chained tiers could be good fun, I wonder how quickly they could get Kyalami ready to host.
 
My bet would either be Portimao and/or Istanbul Park. Portimao is further south but not by much. Either could work and both are already FIA approved F1 venues.
 
Agent_Smith said:
My bet would either be Portimao and/or Istanbul Park. Portimao is further south but not by much. Either could work and both are already FIA approved F1 venues.
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Apparently Imola is the frontrunner, but the cold conditions don't seem suitable.

Portimao would be the most logical for that time of the year. Jerez in Spain is another option. Even though F1 hasn't been there since 2015 (it was a regular testing venue), the track has maintained its Grade One rating.

Instanbul's safety license has expired, so that could be a problem for them. While they are on the provisional calendar for 2027, they haven't yet had their license renewed (it lapsed in 2023) and still need to pass an FIA safety and technical inspection. It could be a simple case of updating admin, as most online sources indicate that the track has been maintained to F1 standards, or it could require something major like resurfacing.
 
thestaggy said:
Apparently Imola is the frontrunner, but the cold conditions don't seem suitable.

Portimao would be the most logical for that time of the year. Jerez in Spain is another option. Even though F1 hasn't been there since 2015 (it was a regular testing venue), the track has maintained its Grade One rating.

Instanbul's safety license has expired, so that could be a problem for them. While they are on the provisional calendar for 2027, they haven't yet had their license renewed (it lapsed in 2023) and still need to pass an FIA safety and technical inspection. It could be a simple case of updating admin, as most online sources indicate that the track has been maintained to F1 standards, or it could require something major like resurfacing.
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Interesting. I can't see that as being a huge fix though. Tire walls, techpro barriers, run-offs etc, should all theoretically still be in place and anything that would need to be sorted out in this regard, shouldn't take too long (to my mind anyway). I suppose it would all come down to when the FIA actually make the call to confirm them hosting a race so as to give them sufficient time to sort out any issues.

EDIT: I think Jerez would be a 'meh' track for F1 cars in term of excitement. Even the current crop of MotoGP bikes find it hard to pass. It's sort of like Hungary. One line through a lot of corners.
 
Agent_Smith said:
Interesting. I can't see that as being a huge fix though. Tire walls, techpro barriers, run-offs etc, should all theoretically still be in place and anything that would need to be sorted out in this regard, shouldn't take too long (to my mind anyway). I suppose it would all come down to when the FIA actually make the call to confirm them hosting a race so as to give them sufficient time to sort out any issues.

EDIT: I think Jerez would be a 'meh' track for F1 cars in term of excitement. Even the current crop of MotoGP bikes find it hard to pass. It's sort of like Hungary. One line through a lot of corners.
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Yeah 29 years ago Villeneuve had to ram Schumacher of the road to pass him.
 
My pre-race check on weather for the upcoming weekend shows some rain possible on Friday and Saturday during the sprint and qualifying. Friday will be particularly tricky if it rains as the teams only have one practice session to fine tune things for Sunday.
 
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