Formula 1 team principals have expressed support for the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM), amid the uncertainties still surrounding the 2026 calendar. The instability caused by conflicts in the Middle East continues to affect the category’s schedule, and further changes are still being considered.
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Currently, the championship is scheduled to have 22 rounds, two fewer than the 24 initially planned. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs, which were to be held consecutively in April, have been postponed indefinitely due to increased security concerns in the region following the start of the conflict between the USA and Iran.
Since then, FIA CEO Stefano Domenicali has indicated that the Bahrain GP could return to the calendar between the Azerbaijan GP, scheduled for September 26, and Singapore, on October 10. The proposal would create a triple-header, but so far no official calendar update has been published, and the recent worsening of the crisis in the region is likely to prevent this from happening.
Speaking to the press, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said that teams trust the work of the FIA and FOM to find the best solution: “In the end, Stefano Domenicali and the FIA will sort out the calendar. We will race wherever they tell us to race and we will be happy to do so,” he said.
Brown also explained that the uncertainty has not caused significant commercial problems for the teams: “I think we all face the same challenge in managing this situation. Our partners understand that the calendar is quite large, so this really does not represent a commercial problem from that point of view,” he said.
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A decision is expected before the category’s break in August, after the Hungarian GP takes place later this month. Meanwhile, the situation remains open, mainly because the Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs, scheduled to close the season between November and December, may also be affected by instability in the region and require alternative plans.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur reinforced confidence in the work of the entities: “Honestly, we are all in the same boat, teams, FOM and FIA. We all want to race and race again, but this is the situation. We have great confidence in the FIA and FOM regarding the calendar. They are working hard to find solutions and I am convinced they are doing the best they can,” he added.
Steve Nielsen, Alpine’s managing director, shared the same view and highlighted that organizers must be evaluating different scenarios: “I don’t have much to add. I’m sure they have numerous versions of the calendar and will choose the one that world events allow to be held,” he concluded.
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