FIA won’t “jump the gun” over cancelling F1’s Middle East races – Ben Sulayem | Formula 1

FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem says the governing body will not rush to relocate this year’s final two Formula 1 races unless it has to.

The status of the season-closing races in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates has been in doubt since the USA and Israel began bombing Iran earlier this year, leading to a wave of retaliatory strikes in the region.

A ceasefire agreement was reached in June. Both sides have launched further strikes since then, though not as extensively as they did when fighting first broke out.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali previously said the series could relocate its final two rounds to Europe. However Ben Sulayem told the Associated Press it is “business as usual” for the governing body at present and “we are not changing anything unless we have to.”

“Being from that part of the world, we can’t jump the gun and just say, that’s it, we are cancelling and then cancel,” he said.

“Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not. We will not. But we’ll have also to listen to the governments and to the local promoter there.”

The FIA’s World Endurance Championship has already abandoned its attempts to race in Qatar this year. It postponed its March season-opener at the Losail International Circuit until October, then called it off altogether two months ago. WEC has also shelved its plans to race in Bahrain in November.

F1 cancelled its races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which were due to take place in April. It will instead hold an event titled the ‘Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia’ at the Sepang International Circuit next month.

Domenicali has indicated F1 will make its plans for the final races of the season clear in the middle of September.

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine