{"id":908435,"date":"2026-09-28T10:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T10:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908435\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T10:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T10:12:09","slug":"max-verstappen-makes-f1-middle-east-feelings-clear-amid-calendar-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908435\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen makes F1 Middle East feelings clear amid calendar uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen<\/a> does not believe that F1 should chance racing in the Middle East this season, despite Qatar and Abu Dhabi remaining on the schedule. <\/p>\n

F1 is facing pressure from all sides ahead of a mid-October deadline for a final decision on whether the championship will visit the Middle East this year.<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen\u2019s verdict: \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t go\u201d<\/p>\n

Motorsport events on global, regional, and national levels have all cancelled events in the Middle East this year as conflict continues in the region.<\/p>\n

This number includes F1 itself, with the championship having cut rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the opening stages of the season.<\/p>\n

While Bahrain has found its way back through a deal that will bizarrely see Malaysia host the \u2018Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia\u2019, Jeddah failed to regain a position.<\/p>\n

With Qatar and Abu Dhabi still on the schedule as the season-ending rounds, there is a growing debate as to whether F1 should chance racing in the region.<\/p>\n

Asked for his thoughts by ViaPlay ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen said: \u201cNormally I am happy to go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you know, when there is a war nearby, and if some of the countries are in conflict with each other, then I think we shouldn\u2019t go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, it doesn\u2019t matter if you have a contract or not, I think. But it\u2019s not up to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

How will the F1 2026 season end?<\/p>\n

FIA President gives F1 2026 calendar update amid uncertainty<\/a><\/p>\n

Complete F1 2027 calendar officially released<\/a><\/p>\n

While it is possible to point to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and neighbouring Armenia, which has been going since 1988, as evidence that F1 is happy to race in a country where there is war, the UK Foreign Office travel advice for the country reads: \u201cThere is a heightened risk of regional tension. Escalation could lead to travel disruption, including airspace closures and other unanticipated impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a far cry from the current advice for Qatar and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn\u00a0relation to the conflict in the Middle East, however the situation in the Middle East\u00a0remains\u00a0unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Foreign Office advice adds: \u201cThere is a risk of more attacks and unforeseen escalation in the region. Before the ceasefire, the Iranian regime had\u00a0stated\u00a0its intention to target locations associated with the US and Israel, including organisations, businesses, facilities, and institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

With races in the Middle East the most lucrative for F1, removing the races from the schedule would be seen as an absolute last resort.<\/p>\n

Should this happen, Imola is being prepared to host an unexpected finale, which would see the F1 season end in Europe for the first time since 1984.<\/p>\n

Of the prospect of racing in a cold and potentially wet Imola, Verstappen said: \u201cIt will probably be very chaotic with our rain tyres.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut taking everything into consideration, I\u2019m fine with it. It\u2019s a good track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n

Read Next: F1 prepares Imola finale as Qatar and Abu Dhabi hang in the balance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen does not believe that F1 should chance racing in the Middle East this season, despite Qatar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[94915,64,63,818,825,806,805,803,804,44,167334,918,85],"class_list":["post-908435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-abu-dhabi-grand-prix","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-home-page","tag-max-verstappen","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-news","tag-qatar-grand-prix","tag-red-bull","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}