(Motorsport-Total.com) – For now, there is hardly more than one date in the calendar: On November 29, the Formula 1 season could end with the Grand Prix of Qatar. However, the race would not take place as usual in Doha, but in Imola. The idea that the 2026 world champion will be crowned at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is no longer a far-fetched notion.
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A final decision must be made by September 15 – in the window between the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid and the race in Azerbaijan. By then, it must be clear whether the last two season races (Qatar and Abu Dhabi on December 6, which is considered less likely) need to be canceled.
The reason is the ongoing instability in the Gulf region, as no final agreement has yet been reached between the USA and Iran regarding the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Time is running out, and the organizational leeway is almost exhausted. Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali is pulling out all the stops to give the 2026 season a worthy conclusion.
Grand Prix of Qatar in Imola
It is quite conceivable that the race in Qatar (or the one in Abu Dhabi) will be moved to Imola – following the same principle by which the Bahrain Grand Prix on October 4 already switched to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.
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Imola could thus unexpectedly make up the race that had to be canceled in 2023 due to the devastating floods in Emilia-Romagna. The track owes this to a kind of “financial miracle”: Qatar would fully finance the event and take over the entire advertising campaign.
The operational execution on site would be in the hands of the Italian Automobile Club ACI and Formula Imola, the operator of the race track. Sponsorship and ticket revenues would go directly to the promoter from the Middle East, while Imola would be reimbursed for the pure organizational costs.
A win for all sides?
In the end, all parties could live well with this: Qatar (as well as Bahrain) keeps its own Grand Prix on the calendar, and Liberty Media ensures the contractually guaranteed 22 season races. This avoids significant conventional penalties against the TV stations for the rights holder.
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Imola would be surprisingly represented again in the Formula 1 circus, and ACI President Geronimo La Russa would get a second home Grand Prix without his own financial investment. For Stefano Domenicali, it would be the perfect solution to a huge problem.
The last Formula 1 race of traditional circuits
The project is still running behind the scenes, and no one is speaking officially – except ACI President Geronimo La Russa: “Given the tense international situation in the Middle East, we are working together with the government and sports associations to be ready to hold a second Formula 1 race in our country in the current championship in just a few months,” he says.
“Imola, just a few kilometers from Rimini, is the ideal solution for another race of the premier class.”
Schedule would have to be adjusted
Formula 1 still hopes that Donald Trump will find a diplomatic solution to end the conflict with Iran. But the thought that the world championship showdown between the young Italian Mercedes driver and Ferrari could be decided on home soil already makes fans dream.
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The teams are certainly not taking any risks and have already blocked hotel contingents in the Imola region in advance. However, a big question mark remains over the weather at the end of November. The concern is less about cold or rain, but especially about fog: If the rescue helicopters cannot take off, the entire race operation would come to a halt.
Since the days are significantly shorter in late autumn, the schedule for a race in Emilia-Romagna would have to be adjusted. Qualifying and the Grand Prix would have to start earlier in the day to avoid running into darkness.
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