The situation surrounding Qatar and Abu Dhabi remains tense, whilst preparations are already underway in Imola and the Formula 1 teams are booking hotels
Only one thing is certain: the Formula 1 World Championship will come to an end on 6 December. Everything else remains completely up in the air. The more days that pass, the less clear the situation becomes. The organisers of the Qatar Grand Prix, scheduled for 29 November, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are pressing ahead with the organisation of their respective races on the calendar as if the geopolitical situation in the Gulf had stabilised. At the same time, there are significant tensions in the Middle East on a daily basis, which are increasingly jeopardising the security situation.
At least eight Iranian oil tankers have been hit in the Strait of Hormuz. Added to this is the escalating crisis between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, after Yemeni militants used a drone to strike an Italian Eurofighter jet stationed at the Saudi King Fahd Air Base in Ta’if.
In fact, the two races at the end of the season should be cancelled due to a lack of security. However, in Abu Dhabi in particular, there is no willingness to forgo the season finale of the World Championship.
The hotels have already been booked …
This has created a stalemate that makes everything extremely complicated. As a precaution, all the teams have reserved hotels for the weekend of 6 December in Imola. Meanwhile, at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, preparations are under way for what is set to become the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Essentially, nobody wants to take the first step towards resolving the situation: the Arab organisers insist they can stage their events under completely safe conditions, which is why, from their point of view, Western concerns are unjustified. Liberty Media, for its part, cannot afford to have Formula 1 drawn, even indirectly, into a conflict zone. Cancelling the races in the Emirates, however, would result in having to pay substantial, contractually stipulated penalty fees.
A tactical game is underway: at Monza, it still looked as though the deadline was imminent. Instead, they will wait until the first few days of October before a decision is made – in the hope that this complicated knot can be untangled not through conflict, but through the actual course of events.
According to information from Motorsport.com Italy, some manufacturers – not only from Formula 1, but also from MotoGP – have already informed their teams, or are on the verge of doing so, not to travel to high-risk areas. The reason cited is the risk that the necessary insurance cover for travelling personnel and dispatched equipment cannot be guaranteed.
Rumour has it that some teams have already imposed a ban on flights over unsafe areas. This complicates the logistics of team movements and incurs additional costs that were by no means factored in at the start of the season.
No one is prepared to take the first step that could break the deadlock, and time is becoming a crucial factor in reaching a solution. Indeed, some are hoping that government intervention could end the stalemate.
A travel advisory might resolve the issues
The British Foreign Office could, for example, issue a travel advisory for certain areas for British citizens because their safety cannot be guaranteed. As the majority of Formula 1 teams are British, such a ban would have an immediate impact on the entire Formula 1 circus.
However, Imola is running out of time: At the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the organisational machinery has already been set in motion – in the knowledge that staging a Grand Prix in early December would entail significant restrictions.
For example, spectator capacity in the grandstands might not reach last year’s record level, as grandstands could not be erected in some areas of the circuit due to ground conditions. In addition, work is underway on a completely new car park concept designed to prevent vehicles from having to be parked in the mud. All vehicles are to be parked on paved surfaces, whilst shuttle buses would provide transport to the paddock and the grandstands.
The race, at which Kimi Antonelli could secure his first world championship title with Mercedes, will be organised by the Italian federation, ACI. Geronimo La Russa, together with Imola’s mayor Marco Panieri and local authorities, will ensure that Formula Imola can successfully stage what is likely to be the most challenging Grand Prix of the year.
The idea of renaming the race the Qatar Grand Prix or the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been ruled out. Stefano Domenicali had pulled off such a masterstroke brilliantly when he moved the Bahrain Grand Prix to Sepang in Malaysia on 4 October. It cannot be ruled out, however, that the main sponsor will be taken over by one of the two Arab organisers in order to raise the profile of a company that had already concluded a corresponding agreement.
