{"slug":"qatar-abu-dhabi-question","date":"2026-11-03","season":2026,"round":19,"grandPrixName":"Mexico","raceDate":"2026-11-01","day":"midweek","tag":"analysis","title":"Qatar and Abu Dhabi in question: what we know before the finale","description":"F1 still plans to end the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. A letter to the teams, a MotoGP boycott and a reported Imola deadline show how open the question is.","minutes":4,"cover":{"driverId":"max-verstappen","constructorId":"red-bull","number":"3","reading":"29.11","readingLabel":"Qatar Grand Prix","credit":"Formula 1"},"html":"

The title is decided, but the end of the 2026 season is not. Formula 1 still plans to finish the year in Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December. In the last few days, though, a letter to the teams, a boycott in MotoGP and a report of a deadline for a replacement race in Imola have shown how open the question still is.

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The spring already showed what can happen

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This is not a new problem. In March, before the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix because of the war in the Middle East. Stefano Domenicali called it "the right one at this stage" (ABC News). Saudi Arabia did not come back. Bahrain did, in a way: its Grand Prix was held on 4 October at Sepang in Malaysia, round 16 of the season.

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What F1 told the teams

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During the Mexico weekend F1 sent a letter to all teams. Autosport saw it: F1 still intends to end the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and told Autosport that those plans have not changed (Autosport). According to GPblog, the letter also asks teams and drivers not to criticise the two races in public and to trust F1 and the FIA (GPblog).

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MotoGP goes first

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MotoGP races at Lusail, the same circuit F1 uses, this weekend, from 6 to 8 November. On Sunday Yamaha became the first manufacturer to say publicly that it will not go: Yamaha and its satellite team Pramac will boycott the race. MotoGP has threatened sanctions, and the other manufacturers are still travelling (Autosport). That weekend will be the first real test of how a paddock behaves in the region this autumn.

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Lusail at night: the main straight and the grandstand during the 2013 MotoGP race. F1 is due here on 29 November. Photo: Trinidade, CC BY-SA 3.0

On Tuesday GPblog reported that the Iranian agency Fars had circulated a list of possible targets that includes hotels used by F1 and MotoGP teams in Qatar and the UAE (GPblog). Neither F1 nor the FIA has commented on it.

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What the drivers say

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Few drivers have said anything. Carlos Sainz, a director of the drivers' association, said in Austin that on a personal level it was "very difficult to be convinced right now". Less than two hours later Williams issued a statement in his name saying he trusts F1 and the FIA to make the right decision. Max Verstappen said in Mexico that it depends on what can be guaranteed on safety "and what happens over the coming weeks" (GPblog).

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Imola and the 10 November date

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The fallback is Imola. GPblog reports that teams have been told 10 November, the Tuesday after São Paulo, is the last date to approve a replacement race there. If Qatar and Abu Dhabi were called off after that, there would be no replacement, and the season would end in Las Vegas on 22 November (GPblog). F1 has not confirmed this date, and there is no official decision on Imola.

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What it means for the table

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The title is already Kimi Antonelli's. The fight for second is not: four drivers are within 16 points, and we wrote about it on Monday. With four rounds left there are 100 points on offer. Without the Gulf double header there would be 50, or 75 if Imola replaced one of them. The standings could freeze much sooner than anyone planned.

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Next up is the São Paulo Grand Prix this weekend. The answer on Qatar and Abu Dhabi may come before the cars leave Brazil.

\n","related":[{"slug":"antonelli-champion-season-in-numbers","date":"2026-11-02","season":2026,"round":19,"grandPrixName":"Mexico","raceDate":"2026-11-01","day":"midweek","tag":"analysis","title":"The Champion's season in numbers","description":"Kimi Antonelli settled the 2026 title in Mexico with four races to go. The numbers explain how, from his age to a lead nobody could close.","minutes":3,"cover":{"driverId":"kimi-antonelli","constructorId":"mercedes","number":"12","reading":"380","readingLabel":"Points this season","credit":"Formula 1"}},{"slug":"ferrari-hamilton-leclerc-mexico","date":"2026-11-02","season":2026,"round":19,"grandPrixName":"Mexico","raceDate":"2026-11-01","day":"midweek","tag":"teams","title":"Hamilton vs Leclerc: the lap that cost Ferrari a win","description":"Ferrari started Mexico from pole and lost by 0.799 seconds. A first-lap fight between its own drivers left Hamilton angry, Leclerc unrepentant and Vasseur talking about respect.","minutes":3,"cover":{"driverId":"lewis-hamilton","constructorId":"ferrari","number":"44","reading":"0.799","readingLabel":"Seconds from a Ferrari win","credit":"Formula 1"}},{"slug":"second-place-fight","date":"2026-11-02","season":2026,"round":19,"grandPrixName":"Mexico","raceDate":"2026-11-01","day":"midweek","tag":"analysis","title":"Four drivers, 16 points: the fight for second","description":"The title is settled, but second place is not. Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc are separated by 16 points with four races to go.","minutes":3,"cover":{"driverId":"max-verstappen","constructorId":"red-bull","number":"3","reading":"16","readingLabel":"Points from 2nd to 5th","credit":"Formula 1"}}]}