Domenicali Pushes To Restore Bahrain GP To F1's 2026 Schedule
Formula 1

Domenicali Pushes To Restore Bahrain GP To F1's 2026 Schedule

10 July 2026 2 min readBy F1 News Desk (AI-assisted)

Stefano Domenicali is racing the clock to add the cancelled Bahrain GP back for early October, calling it 'an incredibly positive message' — though the slot between Baku and Singapore would create a brutal triple-header.

Key Takeaways

  • 1."I think that the gap to do the eventual possibility of doing one of the races that we have not done, we need to do it before the summer break," the F1 president said, effectively setting the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July as a deadline.
  • 2.Stefano Domenicali has confirmed F1 is pushing to add the race back to the 2026 schedule, and the most likely landing spot is early October.
  • 3."If there is something that we can announce also related to the possibility of seeing if there is any space for what has not been done so far, we're going to do it, in the right moment and the right conditions," Domenicali said.

The cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix may not stay cancelled. Stefano Domenicali has confirmed F1 is pushing to add the race back to the 2026 schedule, and the most likely landing spot is early October.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were both scrapped this year because of conflict in the Middle East. With the situation calmer, F1 wants at least one back, and it is Bahrain that is on the table.

"If there is something that we can announce also related to the possibility of seeing if there is any space for what has not been done so far, we're going to do it, in the right moment and the right conditions," Domenicali said.

Time is the pressure point. "I think that the gap to do the eventual possibility of doing one of the races that we have not done, we need to do it before the summer break," the F1 president said, effectively setting the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July as a deadline. He was upbeat about the chances: "That is really the hope, because if all the conditions are right, we're going to go ahead with our plan. If there is a chance, why not?"

For Domenicali, the significance runs past the sporting side. "It would be an incredibly positive message for sport, and also politically, that we are moving in this direction, because if this is happening, it is something we can say is behind us," he said.

The groundwork looks well advanced. GPblog reported that F1 and Formula 2 teams have been told FOM plans to run Bahrain on 2-4 October, between Azerbaijan and Singapore, with an announcement expected before the Belgian GP at Spa. Formula 3 would skip the trip, and Saudi Arabia is not coming back — there is no slot for it.

The downside is the strain it adds to the closing stretch. Bahrain between Baku and Singapore forms a triple-header and helps compress nine races into 11 weeks, built around three triple-headers with only single-week gaps. Even at 23 rounds, one down on the original plan, it would be one of the most demanding finishes F1 has scheduled.

Domenicali insists the priority stays steady. "Our duty is to make sure we are ready to run our calendar as it is planned," he said. On his own timeline, a decision is only weeks off.