Formula One drops Imola backup plan and keeps Middle East finale on schedule

Formula One has stood down Imola as a standby venue for its season finale, and is pushing ahead with its planned Middle East races. The Guardian reported the change on 10 November.

Imola, the Italian circuit, had been lined up to replace Abu Dhabi as the last race of the year. That was a fallback in case conflict in the region made the Gulf races impossible. Now that backup is off the table.

The two remaining rounds are the Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November and the Abu Dhabi finale on 6 December. A Grand Prix is one race weekend, and the season is made up of them. The season has already changed shape this year. Formula One cancelled its April Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix after war broke out in the region. The Bahrain event was then held in Malaysia in September.

A meeting between Formula One's key stakeholders took place on Tuesday. It discussed what to do if the situation worsens during the race weeks. Formula One chiefs say they are still ready to cancel the Qatar and Abu Dhabi events if escalation happens in the coming weeks. No team has said it is unwilling to travel to the Middle East for the closing races.

On Tuesday, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said on Instagram that the FIA is prepared and committed to running two Grand Prix weekends to finish the season. The FIA is motorsport's governing body. It writes the rules and oversees the events that count towards the world championships.

The same region has also been on the calendar for MotoGP, the motorcycle world championship. It held its Qatar round last weekend. Reports said some riders had resisted racing there, and Yamaha withdrew from the event.

For fans, the next few weeks will decide whether the calendar holds. The plan is to race on the scheduled dates, with cancellation still possible if the situation changes.