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Imola has emerged as a leading candidate to host this year’s Formula 1 season finale, potentially moving ahead of Portimão as the championship searches for a replacement venue for the Middle Eastern rounds that remain at risk of cancellation.
The possibility was first reported by The Race and has since been corroborated by sources cited by RacingNews365. Prolonged tensions between the United States and Iran have already forced the postponement of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. With instability in the region continuing, the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races — scheduled to close the campaign — are increasingly vulnerable.
Formula 1 has already found a solution for Bahrain. The race is now scheduled to take place at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit on 4 October, creating a triple-header with Azerbaijan and Singapore. The move offers a practical logistical answer to one part of the calendar problem; the season finale remains a more complicated question.
If both Qatar and Abu Dhabi are removed, an additional round in early December, two weeks after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, is considered the most viable option. Combined with the replacement Bahrain round in Malaysia, that would restore the schedule to 22 Grands Prix and satisfy key commercial obligations.
Portimão had been widely viewed as the frontrunner. The Algarve International Circuit has previously hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix and offers a relatively mild December climate. However, its suitability is now under scrutiny.
The circuit has a two-year agreement to host the Portuguese Grand Prix in 2027 and 2028 and is understood to want significant infrastructure improvements before those events. Hosting a race in December could compromise that work, weakening Portimão’s case at a critical stage.
That has opened the door for Imola, which is now firmly on Formula 1’s shortlist. The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari has experience of late-season hosting, returning to the calendar in November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and appearing again in 2022 as a replacement for the Chinese Grand Prix. A subsequent three-year agreement kept it on the calendar through 2025.
A December event would still present a clear sporting challenge. Average daily highs of just 7°C would make tyre warm-up particularly difficult, potentially shaping the weekend’s competitive picture.
The venue, however, carries a compelling narrative. Kimi Antonelli is the favourite for this season’s drivers’ championship, Ferrari remains in contention for the constructors’ title, and Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali comes from Imola. Against that backdrop, the circuit could provide a strong symbolic setting for an unsettled finale. The wider calendar reshuffle is already reflected in Sepang’s confirmation as Bahrain’s replacement, but the final decision on the closing round remains unresolved.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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