At war again
The resumption of the conflict in the Middle East could have serious repercussions not only on the Formula 1 calendar, but also on that of the WEC. The last two races of the 2026 season, in fact, could be held exclusively in Europe, although no official statements have yet been made in this regard.
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The plan for the new commitments
Already at the start of the world championship, also due to the war involving several countries, the decision was made to postpone the 1812km of Qatar to October 24 as the penultimate event before the 8 Hours of Bahrain, in this case scheduled for November 7. However, if the conflict should continue, the emergency plan would be to definitively cancel the rounds in Qatar and Bahrain from this year’s championship, with the FIA World Motorsport Council meeting to make this decision on July 23.
The problems to solve
The two events would thus be replaced by Barcelona and Monza, respectively scheduled for October 18 and November 7. However, the alternatives present several issues, starting with logistical ones: the change would indeed cause a scheduling conflict with the finale of the GT World Challenge Europe category in Portimão, where 19 drivers and teams such as AF Corse, Garage 50, and Team WRT compete in both series. In this regard, SRO Motorsports Group is reportedly considering moving the Portuguese race to Saturday, thus allowing the involved drivers to also participate in the WEC event.
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Additionally, the new races would be held over a duration of six hours, unlike the eight and ten hours planned in Qatar and Bahrain. Consequently, the lower number of points awarded to winners could have a significant impact on the fight for the world championship (25 points for winners in 6-hour races versus 38 for the longer ones), but there are no official resolutions on this issue either. The only certain aspect is that, in case of cancellation of the races in Qatar and Bahrain, these will not be replaced by circuits where this championship’s events have already taken place.
