Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is hopeful the Bahrain Grand Prix can be added back to the 2026 calendar, according to reports.
James Whitaker, a leading British sports journalist, says the F1 boss is working on bringing back one of the two cancelled Middle Eastern races to the 2026 calendar.
Bahrain is understood to be the ‘preferred option’, with a decision expected before the summer break, suggested Whitaker, who focuses on Formula 1 and MotoGP, on the news.gp website.
As reported earlier in the GDN, Formula 1 is exploring the possibility of restoring the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix to the 2026 calendar after the race was cancelled earlier this season due to conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the British Grand Prix weekend, Mr Domenicali confirmed that the sport remains hopeful of finding space in the calendar for one of the cancelled events.
“If there is something that we can announce also related to the possibility of seeing if there is any space for what has not been done so far, we’re going to do it, in the right moment and the right conditions,” he said.
“That is really the hope, because if all the conditions are right, we’re going to go ahead with our plan.If there is a chance, why not?”
Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, originally scheduled for April, were cancelled because of the security situation in the Gulf region. At the time, Formula 1 did not indicate that either event would be rescheduled.
According to Sky Sports F1, Bahrain could return on the weekend of October 2-4, filling a gap between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix. If the plan is to go ahead, however, Domenicali stressed that a final decision must be made before Formula 1’s summer break, which begins after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26.
Full story in tomorrow's GDN.
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