FIA president defiant over ending 2026 F1 season in Abu Dhabi

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has insisted that F1's planned season-ending races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are set to go ahead.

There was a widespread assumption earlier in the year that the Qatar Grand Prix would be cancelled, as the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was earlier in the year, and that the Abu Dhabi race would follow the example of its Bahraini counterpart and move to a new venue – specifically Imola.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali initially told the media that a final decision on the races would be made 'before mid-September' and, when that date came and went without official word, teams were told that they would have a concrete answer by mid-October.

The longer the saga has dragged on, the more it appears as though the races will actually be held as originally intended despite continued restrictions on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz (and missile attacks on some who do), as well as Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure barely 100 miles from the Qatar Grand Prix's Lusail circuit.

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Ben Sulayem: We have common sense here

Crucially, Qatar and Abu Dhabi themselves have not been hit for months, leaving the door open for the races to be held as planned – presumably with plenty of extra security and planning for the thousands of F1 and team personnel travelling for the events.

Speaking on a media call, Ben Sulayem said of non-F1 events like the upcoming Dakar Rally, set to kick off in Saudi Arabia in January: "We have common sense here that we will never take our staff or drivers or any officials to a place where we feel it is risky - no way."

However, he said that Qatar and Abu Dhabi are currently 'fine' to host races, saying: "One thing I would say: I have my children there [in the UAE]. You think I would leave them there and I'm here now with you [if it was dangerous]?

"You have to be sensible in this. Saying, 'Are we going to have an issue?' is one thing.

"But what you read in the media is actually different than what we have there. What we read and see on TV, we say, 'Where is it?' We don't have that, really. Otherwise why would I stay there? Why would I leave my family there?

"Does this say that there is nothing that is going to happen? I can't predict this. I can only tell you today that there is nothing and the two races are going to happen."

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