Formula One will keep its last two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi despite military conflicts in the Middle East, according to the latest sports business briefing. The decision keeps the championship finale in the Gulf, even as the region war widens and tankers burn in the Strait of Hormuz only hours away by air.
Why it matters
The call is a commercial one as much as a sporting one. Qatar and Abu Dhabi pay some of the largest hosting fees in the sport, the season finale in Abu Dhabi is the traditional closing race, and moving two races at a few weeks notice would cost tens of millions and leave the calendar in chaos. The sport has raced through regional conflict before, and it has decided to do so again.
The drivers championship is still to be settled, and the finale matters. Lando Norris won a rain soaked Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday by more than fourteen seconds, Mercedes sealed the constructors championship, and the title race now heads to the Gulf with everything still to play for. A finale moved or cancelled would have decided the championship by default.
What happens next
The security picture is the risk the sport is accepting. Thirty seven ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in October, ten more have been hit in November, and a drone attack caused a fire at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Wednesday. The Gulf is not a war zone in the way the shipping lanes are, but it is not far from one either.
What happens next will be decided in the final two races and in the region around them. If the races go ahead safely, the decision will look like a brave call. If the conflict reaches the circuits, it will look reckless. For now, Formula One is staying, and the championship will be decided where the sport planned it. Lando Norris won a rain soaked Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday by more than fourteen seconds, and Mercedes sealed the constructors championship, so the title race heads to the Gulf with everything to play for.
