Imola Stood Down as Formula 1's Backup for Qatar and Abu Dhabi

Formula 1 has told the Imola circuit it will not be needed as a backup host for the two Middle East races that close the season. BBC Sport reported the decision on Tuesday 10 November, and it means Imola can stop preparing to stage a race in place of Abu Dhabi.

The plan as it stands has the Qatar Grand Prix on 27-29 November and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 4-6 December. Imola had been asked to get ready to host a race on the Abu Dhabi dates in case the two Middle East events could not go ahead. A backup venue is a standby track, ready to take over the slot if the original host falls through.

The need for that standby came from a disrupted 2026 calendar. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April, was cancelled after war broke out involving the United States and Israel with Iran. The Bahrain Grand Prix was delayed and then eventually held at Malaysia's Sepang circuit in October.

F1 says it is still prepared to cancel the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races if the situation in the Middle East gets worse. In other words, the dates are on the calendar, but they are not locked in for good.

Qatar has already had a taste of the season's new reality. A MotoGP race was held there last weekend, the motorcycle championship that, like F1, is owned by the same US group. Ownership links also run through the teams. The Qatari sovereign investment fund is a part-owner of the Audi F1 team, and Abu Dhabi is a part-owner of McLaren.

For fans, the next few weeks are about watching the calendar rather than the track. If the Qatar weekend goes ahead as planned, the first of the two races will be on the calendar in under three weeks. Any change would be announced by F1 itself, and the teams would have to adjust their travel and logistics at short notice.