F1 Eyes Bahrain GP Return on 2026 Calendar
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- Stefano Domenicali said F1 is hopeful of restoring one of two cancelled Middle East races — Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both scrapped in April due to regional conflict — to the 2026 calendar.
- Sky Sports F1 understand the race targeted for restoration is the Bahrain Grand Prix, with a potential slot of October 2-4, sitting between the Azerbaijan and Singapore rounds.
- Domenicali said a decision on rescheduling must come before F1's summer break, which begins after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26.
- Domenicali also expressed hope that the season's final two races — Qatar (November 27-29) and Abu Dhabi (December 4-6) — would proceed as planned, despite both countries coming under attack during the conflict.
- Rescheduling Bahrain would bring the 2026 calendar to 23 of its originally planned 24 rounds; Silverstone this weekend is the ninth of 22 currently scheduled rounds.
- Kimi Antonelli won the British Grand Prix Sprint and took pole for Sunday's race at Silverstone, leading the Drivers' Championship by 43 points from Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Why it matters: F1 has until July 26 — immediately after the Hungarian Grand Prix — to confirm whether Bahrain returns on October 2-4, which would expand the 2026 calendar to 23 of 24 originally planned rounds. A successful Bahrain reschedule would effectively double as a confidence test for Qatar and Abu Dhabi in November and December, both of which faced attack-related doubts during the same conflict.
