Formula 1 shrugged off the revenue hit from cancelled Middle East races, posting $1.115 billion in Q3 2026 revenue—up 28% year-over-year despite the calendar chaos. The Bahrain and Saudi rounds getting axed had hammered Q2 down 38%, but F1's nine-month total landed just $2 million shy of 2025's pace with two fewer races in the books. Lower operating costs at the F1-owned Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas helped cushion the blow, while every race this season sold out and 11 set attendance records. CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed the season will finish in Qatar and Abu Dhabi despite ongoing regional conflict, with a 23-race calendar locked for the year. The bounce-back proves F1's model can absorb geopolitical curveballs without the bottom line cratering—critical as the sport eyes Africa in the 2030s and keeps adding hospitality capacity at Silverstone, Austria, and Shanghai.
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