F1 – Ferrari’s home circuit of Imola has emerged as a likely host for Formula One’s season-ending race if grands prix in Qatar and Abu Dhabi cannot go ahead due to conflict in the Middle East.
Qatar is due to host the penultimate round of the championship on November 29, with Abu Dhabi following on December 6.
The current plan is for both to proceed but informed sources indicated Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, in the birthplace of Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali, had become a frontrunner to step in should circumstances rule out the Middle East.
Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported that Imola, dropped from the calendar this season, could return as the finale after the November Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Sources at the Hungarian Grand Prix confirmed to Reuters that was on the cards.
If confirmed, Imola would be the first season-ending race in Europe since Spain’s Jerez circuit hosted the finale in 1997.
With Ferrari in the hunt for a first Formula One title of any sort since 2008, an Italian finale would also be likely to be well attended.
Portugal’s Portimao circuit had previously been considered a likely alternative, along with the Istanbul circuit, but construction work in the winter months ahead of their returns to the calendar in 2027 could make that difficult.
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