F1 sticks with Qatar and Abu Dhabi as Yamaha’s boycott splits MotoGP
F1 has told its teams both season-ending races go ahead and asked them not to speak out, while Verstappen, Sainz and senior paddock figures voice doubts
Formula 1 will end its 2026 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as planned, even after Yamaha pulled out of this weekend’s MotoGP race at Lusail over safety fears linked to the war with Iran. F1 (FIA) told its teams this week that both Grands Prix will go ahead, ESPN reported, and cautioned them against “speaking out publicly or being dragged into speculation by the media”.
The Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail runs from 27 to 29 November, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina from 4 to 6 December (F1 calendar 2026). With Kimi Antonelli already crowned world champion in Mexico City, the drivers’ title is no longer at stake in either race.
“Everything is confirmed,” says Domenicali
F1’s position has not moved in months. Speaking to French broadcaster Canal+ in early October, CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “Based on the information we have, everything is confirmed for [us to stay in] Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem took the same line on 20 October. “We will never take our staff or drivers or any officials to a place where we feel it is risky,” he said, pointing out that his own children live in the United Arab Emirates. He also admitted: “I can’t predict this.”
According to ESPN, F1 points to unchanged government travel guidance and says it is in constant contact with the authorities in both countries, who have given assurances that both races are safe “as things stand”. F1 has also walked the teams through evacuation scenarios. BBC Sport notes that there have been no attacks on civilian infrastructure in the region for nearly six months. Imola is on standby to host the finale on 6 December. The war already forced F1 to cancel its April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia; the Bahrain Grand Prix was later moved to Sepang.
Verstappen said no, Hamilton said yes
Max Verstappen was the first driver to break ranks. In September he told Viaplay: “Normally I am happy to go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, but you know, when there is a war nearby, and if some of the countries are in conflict with each other, then I think we shouldn’t go. Then, it doesn’t matter if you have a contract or not, I think. But it’s not up to me.”
Lewis Hamilton took the opposite view that same week: “I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East.” He added that he trusts Domenicali “to make the right decision for the sport”.
Verstappen has since softened. He no longer expects F1 teams to split the way MotoGP has, but says: “It also depends a bit on what they can guarantee in terms of safety.”
Sainz’s U-turn came within two hours
Carlos Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, went further at the FIA press conference in Austin on 22 October, speaking for himself rather than the GPDA: “The world can change a lot in the next month, one month and a half, and we need to stay diligent and reactive.”
Within two hours, Williams issued a statement in his name in which he said he would “completely trust them to make the right decision”, referring to the FIA and Formula 1. Asked about it later, Verstappen laughed: “Someone will probably have had a word with him afterwards.”
“Significant misgivings” behind closed doors
BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson wrote this week that many people within F1 have “significant misgivings about going to the Middle East”, even if few say so publicly. The fear is not the circuits themselves: the worst case discussed at senior level is the sport being caught in the region if hostilities resume, with its people unable to leave. The concern grew this week when a list attributed to Iran’s Fars news agency, widely reported in the European press, named hotels used by F1 and MotoGP teams in Qatar and the UAE among possible targets if Iran is attacked again.
MotoGP shows how fast a consensus can break
Yamaha announced on Sunday that it will skip the Qatar MotoGP round. Following its latest assessment of the situation in the Middle East, the company said it “has not identified sufficient grounds to change its existing company-wide travel restrictions”.
MotoGP said the rest of the grid will race at Lusail. The riders had already raised their concerns with the organisers, and Jack Miller said 19 riders agree that the race should not go ahead.
Our view: silence is not a safety plan
F1 and the FIA may well be right that the risk is manageable, and they have far more information than any team or reporter. But asking teams not to speak out works against them. Safety decisions earn trust when they are explained, not when the doubts are kept quiet. With the title settled, the sporting reason to go is smaller than ever, and the people who travel deserve to know what would trigger the move to Imola, and by when. The latest points: F1 standings 2026.
Sources: ESPN (2 November and 26 September 2026), BBC Sport (Andrew Benson, 3 November 2026), Gulf News (Domenicali, October 2026), Crash.net (Ben Sulayem, 20 October; Yamaha and MotoGP, 1 November 2026), Blick (Fars list, November 2026), grandprix.com (Sainz and Williams, 23 October 2026), F1 Chronicle (Verstappen, 3 November 2026).
Should F1 race in Qatar and Abu Dhabi this year, or move the finale to Imola? Tell us in the comments.
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