Max Verstappen wants Formula 1 to stay out of Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Speaking to Dutch broadcaster ViaPlay, the four-time world champion said the sport should not run its planned end-of-season double header while a war continues in the region.
“Normally I am happy to go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but you know, when there is a war nearby, and if some of the countries are in conflict with each other, then I think we shouldn’t go,” Verstappen told ViaPlay.
He also dismissed the contractual argument.
“Then, it doesn’t matter if you have a contract or not, I think. But it’s not up to me.”
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Not every driver on the grid agrees. Lewis Hamilton took the opposite line when asked about the same two rounds.
“I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East,” Hamilton said.
The deadline that keeps slipping
F1 originally set a mid-September cut-off to decide whether Qatar (scheduled for 29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December) could go ahead. Mid-September has passed, and teams now expect an answer no earlier than mid-October. Even sea freight for a late-November race in the Gulf is close to running out.
The delay is not only about safety. According to F1’s own filings, whether a promoter pays its fee if a race is cancelled depends on the contract, so if Formula One Management pulls the plug it loses the money; if the promoter pulls it, the promoter absorbs the cost. Neither side wants to move first.
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The commercial exposure is roughly $180m across the two rounds, split between hosting fees, freight and licensing. Imola, quietly prepared as a backup finale on 6 December, would generate far less. Grandstands are being built, hotels are booked and logistical arrangements are being made at the Italian venue.
Domenicali: no third option
Stefano Domenicali, who renewed as F1 president and CEO through 2029, has said that if the Middle East rounds cannot go ahead, F1 will finish in Europe.
“If this will not be possible, the end of the season will be in Europe, because we cannot go in other places,” Domenicali told Sky Sports earlier this year.
That is not a hypothetical for the sport in 2026. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were both dropped from the calendar in March over the same regional conflict; Bahrain was later reinstated with the race held in Malaysia.
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Verstappen on a wet, cold Imola
If Imola does host the finale, F1 will run cars on a European circuit in December, a cold-and-wet scenario the sport normally avoids. Verstappen was asked about it.
“Yes, it will probably be very chaotic with our rain tyres. But taking everything into consideration, I’m fine with it. It’s a good track,” he told ViaPlay.
Verstappen is not in the title fight this year. He sits sixth in the drivers’ standings after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, yet to win a race in 2026, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leading. Domenicali’s decision on the finale is expected by mid-October.
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