F1 is "working overtime" to claw back one of the two Middle East races wiped from the 2026 calendar after the Iran war forced Bahrain and Saudi Arabia off their April slots. Liberty CEO Derek Chang told investors both returning is unlikely, but one could land late in the season.
The cleanest fit: drop Bahrain into the October 2-4 window between Azerbaijan and Singapore, creating a triple-header before the Americas swing. The messier option: bolt Saudi or Bahrain onto December 6 and shove Abu Dhabi to December 13, building F1's first quadruple header. A final call likely waits for the summer break, pending a durable US-Iran ceasefire.
There's also a doomsday plan if Qatar and Abu Dhabi go sideways — Domenicali wouldn't confirm a Vegas double-header, but didn't rule it out either. Q1 revenue jumped 53% to $617M, so the hosting-fee math is doing plenty of talking.
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