During the presentation of the 2026 quarterly report, CEO Derek Chang confirmed that, geopolitical situation permitting, an attempt is being made to reschedule one of the two races canceled in April due to the war in Iran later.
F1 revenues are increasing, net of some inevitable concerns linked to geopolitical instabilities. This is the picture that emerged from the presentation of Liberty Media’s financial data for the first quarter of 2026, which highlighted a significant increase in revenues of 53% (617 million dollars), while waiting to understand how much the cancellations due to the war in Iran will have an impact on the April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It also emerged that the Formula 1 leadership has no intention of giving up on making up for the missed events and in the conference with investors, the CEO of Liberty Media, Derek Chang, putting the safety of staff and drivers first, declared that “the well-being of everyone in F1 comes first and we always manage the calendar following this principle”. Adding that “it may be possible to reschedule a race towards the end of the season”.
plans under study
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To make the plan feasible, Chang confirmed that president Stefano Domenicali and his staff are “working overtime” to monitor the situation and coordinate with local organizers. At the moment, Formula 1 aims to maintain a calendar of at least 22 races. The most accredited hypothesis is the inclusion of the Bahrain GP on the weekend of 2-4 October, which would be inserted between Azerbaijan and Singapore. Another hypothesis would aim to work on the end of the season, with the postponement of the Abu Dhabi GP to December 13th, inserting a race in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia on December 6th, which in any case is not simple from a logistical point of view, given that a quadruplet of consecutive GPs would be created: Las Vegas, Qatar, recovery and Abu Dhabi.
financial solidity
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The need to recover at least one event is also linked to the financial solidity of the brand. Although the first quarter of 2026 recorded a significant increase in revenues, the second quarter faces a probable contraction, having only five races scheduled compared to the nine that were run in 2025. In the event of persistent instability, Stefano Domenicali confirmed the existence of alternative plans to avoid falling below the threshold of 22 races, while hoping that “the world situation, not only for racing, will return to normal”.
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