Carlos Sainz: "Difficult to be convinced" that F1 2026 can finish in the Middle East

Carlos Sainz has admitted that it's "difficult" to be convinced by Formula 1's chiefs that its final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi can go ahead as planned despite the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.

Both F1 management and governing body the FIA have maintained the position that the final two rounds of 2026 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, scheduled back-to-back at the end of November and first weekend of December, can go ahead as planned.

With no resolution in sight for the ongoing conflict between the US and its ally Israel, and Iran, and new strikes on Saudi Arabia by the Houthi rebels, the situation in the Middle East remains extremely volatile.

The outlook is also likely to be influenced by the US midterm elections on 3 November, with several outlets reporting the US and Israel are preparing for fresh attacks on Iran afterwards.

F1 has been working on a contingency plan with an alternative season finale in Imola, on the weekend of the planned Abu Dhabi race, but all indications from series chiefs are that they are very keen to press ahead with the Middle Eastern double-header based on the current information and assurances they have received from various stakeholders.

But Sainz, who acts as director of the F1 drivers association GPDA, feels it is "difficult" and "premature" to envisage a finish in the region based on the current news cycle.

Photo by: Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto via Getty Images

"They seem very convinced that it's going to go ahead," Sainz said on Thursday ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix in Austin. "I think on my personal side, and not speaking as a GPDA, it's very difficult to be convinced right now because there's still plenty of things happening in the Middle East.

"And also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen in the political side of the world that could affect the next month and a half very suddenly. So, I think it's relatively premature to be so convinced."

But Sainz also felt that the drivers have little choice but to put their faith in what series executives decide, as they have more information on what is happening on the ground.

"As it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi and if the FIA and Formula 1 decide that's still safe and a good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say," the Spaniard added.

"It's not like we don't have as much inside information as they have, so we need to follow their lead and trust in their decision making.

"But only as it stands, I think the world can change a lot in the next month and a half. So we need to be [reactive] to whatever happens and not just go because we want to go right now."

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