Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirms Qatar and Abu Dhabi as World Championship finale venues

So it’s confirmed: the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship will conclude with the two Grands Prix in Qatar (29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December), just as was always planned, although this had been called into question by the conflict in the Middle East.

Formula 1 Managing Director Stefano Domenicali (61) confirmed to Italian broadcaster Sky during the Bahrain Grand Prix, held in Malaysia: “With the information and reassuring assurances we have received, we can confirm that Qatar and Abu Dhabi are the final rounds of this World Championship.”

During the interview with Italy’s Sky, Domenicali was also asked about the unusual decision to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

The Imola native said: “Well, we’re in Malaysia, but we’re experiencing the Bahrain Grand Prix 100 per cent here. At first, when we heard about it, it seemed like a rather fanciful idea, didn’t it? And yet they’ve managed to make it a reality, thanks to the close cooperation between the two countries.”

“First and foremost, it’s certainly a special event, but the lovely thing about it is that here in the paddock it really does feel as though we’re in Bahrain. All the facilities convey that atmosphere. We’re trying to convey it in the right way, but it’s clear that it would have been difficult without the cooperation of the Malaysian authorities.”

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“The Crown Prince of Bahrain deserves a great deal of credit: when we discussed this back in July, the idea seemed a little odd, but we’ve managed to make it happen. There are more than 1,000 people from Bahrain working here to make this event what we’re currently experiencing.”

“The fact that we already saw more people in the stands on Friday than at the last Sepang Grand Prix in 2017 shows that, even though Formula 1 hasn’t been to Malaysia for a long time, the passion is still palpable. That’s a great sign. You could already tell from the number of people in the pit lane on Thursday.”

“The flexibility we demonstrate in an operational context of this scale — which no other sport could manage in this way — shows just how well we’re able to respond and plan things optimally. We’ll stick to this approach. Pulling off such complex events demonstrates an unprecedented level of maturity in our system, of which we are, of course, proud.”