FIA makes Qatar Grand Prix decision for WEC that could be telling for F1's season

The World Endurance Championship will not travel to the Middle East in October and November this year, the FIA confirmed in an announcement on Tuesday.

The Qatar 1812km and the 8 Hours of Bahrain have been replaced by races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which will host the final two rounds of the season on 18 October and 8 November, respectively. Both races will be six hours long.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: "I am incredibly proud of the collaboration that will enable Barcelona and Monza to host FIA World Endurance Championship rounds later this year. The FIA has worked closely with our partners in Qatar and Bahrain in recent months to explore every option to preserve both events this season. But due to the ongoing situation in the region, the safety of our teams, colleagues, and motorsport fans remains our highest priority. These are never easy decisions, but protecting the wellbeing of our motorsport community will always come first.

The CEO of WEC, Frederic Lequien added: "A matter of days after the current Middle East crisis began back at the end of February, we acted quickly in postponing the Qatar event until later in the year, just before Bahrain. A few weeks ago, we were optimistic about being able to race at both venues, but unfortunately, the present situation obliges us to switch to an alternative plan.

Formula 1 is also meant to travel to Qatar and Abu Dhabi for the final two rounds of the 2026 season in November and December.

During the announcement of the Bahrain Grand Prix taking place in Sepang, Malaysia, the fate of the final two races was not mentioned. Formula 1 wants to delay making a final decision for as long as possible.

GPblog understands that the Imola circuit in Italy is among the leading candidates to host a season finale if needed. The track featured on the Formula 1 calendar from 2020 to 2025, although the 2023 edition had to be cancelled due to flooding in the region.