F1 sets summer break deadline for possible Middle East race recovery

Formula 1 has set the summer break as the key deadline for deciding whether it can recover one of its postponed Middle Eastern races, with Bahrain or Saudi Arabia still under consideration for a return to the calendar.

The two races were called off in March amid US and Israeli attacks on Iran, forcing F1 to draw up contingency planning not only for those abandoned events but also for the season-ending rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. With a ceasefire now signed, alongside a memorandum of understanding aimed at resolving the conflict within 60 days, Stefano Domenicali has expressed hope that the championship can complete its planned schedule and potentially reinstate one of the races already lost.

Safety remains the first condition

Domenicali made clear that any decision will be led by safety, rather than sporting or commercial pressure. Speaking to Sky, he said: “I really hope that we can have all the conditions - safety first, of course, for all our people - that we can go there.”

He added: “If there is something that we can announce related to the possibility if there is any space for what has not been run so far, we’re going to do it. In the right moment and in the right conditions.”

That wording underlines the delicate balance F1 is trying to strike: the championship wants to preserve the integrity and scale of its calendar, but only if the logistical and security picture allows it. The timing also matters. As seen elsewhere in F1’s planning cycle, the summer break often becomes a natural decision point, a theme also reflected in Carlos Sainz delaying his Williams future call until after the summer break.

Bahrain the most feasible option

Given the density of the remaining calendar, the only realistic opening is the one-week gap between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds in September. That makes the Bahrain Grand Prix the most likely candidate if F1 decides to recover one of the postponed events.

Domenicali said the cut-off must come before the August pause because of the logistics involved. “I think that the gap to do the eventual possibility of recovering one of the races that we have not done, we need to do it before the summer break,” he explained.

Portimao held as contingency plan

F1 has also prepared for the worst-case scenario in which Qatar and Abu Dhabi come under threat later in the year. Backup plans include heading to Portimao in Portugal, which would act as a test run before the circuit officially returns to the calendar in 2027.

That decision has a separate deadline: mid-September. Domenicali said: “It is the duty of a good organiser or promoter to make sure there are plans in place. With regard to the end of the year, for us that’s in place and the decision has to be made by the middle of September.”

For now, F1’s position is clear: the ambition remains to restore as much of the calendar as possible, but the operational window is narrowing fast.

Safety remains the first condition