Sainz warns it is 'premature' to guarantee F1's 2026 Middle East finale will go ahead

Carlos Sainz has cast doubt on Formula 1’s ability to complete its 2026 season in the Middle East, saying it is ‘very difficult’ to share the confidence of series chiefs that the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds will go ahead as scheduled. The Williams driver made the remarks on Thursday ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

Both F1 management and the FIA have maintained that the back-to-back finale — Qatar at the end of November, Abu Dhabi the first weekend of December — remains on track. But Sainz, who serves as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), is not persuaded.

“They seem very convinced that it’s going to go ahead,” Sainz said. “I think on my personal side, and not speaking as a GPDA, it’s very difficult to be convinced right now because there’s still plenty of things happening in the Middle East. And also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen in the political side of the world that could affect the next month and a half very suddenly. So, I think it’s relatively premature to be so convinced.”

The backdrop to his concern is a volatile regional situation involving ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, as well as fresh Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia. The US midterm elections on 3 November add another layer of uncertainty, with several outlets reporting that the US and Israel may launch further attacks on Iran in the aftermath.

F1 is understood to have a contingency plan in place, with Imola pencilled in as an alternative season finale on the same weekend as the Abu Dhabi race, though series chiefs have signalled a strong preference to press ahead with the Middle Eastern double-header based on current assurances from stakeholders.

Sainz acknowledged that drivers ultimately have little choice but to defer to those with greater access to on-the-ground intelligence. “As it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi and if the FIA and Formula 1 decide that’s still safe and a good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say,” he said. “It’s not like we don’t have as much inside information as they have, so we need to follow their lead and trust in their decision making.”

He was careful to leave room for the situation to shift rapidly. “The world can change a lot in the next month and a half,” Sainz added. “So we need to be reactive to whatever happens and not just go because we want to go right now.”