Imola ready to host second Italian GP: 'It's the ideal solution'

As already announced a few weeks ago, Formula 1 is certain to recover at least one of the events cancelled last April due to the conflict in the Middle East. The Bahrain Grand Prix will still take place in early October, although the event will be held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Uncertainty remains over the season finale, however, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi currently scheduled to host the penultimate and final rounds respectively. F1 will soon have to decide how to proceed and where the 2026 season will ultimately come to an end.

Last month, GPblog learned that, if Imola were to host the final race of the Formula 1 season, the event could potentially still be staged under the 'Qatar Grand Prix' or 'Abu Dhabi Grand Prix' name, although this remains an unlikely scenario at the moment.

During an event, La Russa revealed that work is already underway with government and sporting institutions to prepare for the possibility of hosting a second Formula 1 Grand Prix in Italy later this season, amid the complicated international situation in the Middle East. He identified Imola as the ideal venue to host the additional round.

Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Guenther Steiner added further fuel to the debate surrounding the possibility of Formula 1 ending the 2026 season in Europe if the ongoing conflict in the Middle East prevents the championship from travelling to Abu Dhabi.

The former Haas team principal questioned whether a European race would be a realistic solution so late in the year, pointing in particular to the unpredictable weather conditions in November and December.

Steiner also stressed that any replacement venue would need to make financial and logistical sense for the teams, while suggesting that the addition of Malaysia as a contingency option gives F1 greater flexibility to ensure the calendar still features more than 20 races.