F1 boss Domenicali hopes to restore cancelled Gulf grand prix / Photo: © AFP/File
F1 boss Domenicali hopes to restore cancelled Gulf grand prix
Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali says he wants to restore to this season's calendar at least one of the two races in the Middle East which were cancelled because of the war in the region.
The two rounds scheduled for Bahrain and Jeddah in April were scrapped following the attack by the USA and Israel on Iran which spilled over to all the Arab Gulf states.
"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," the Italian told UK broadcaster Sky Sport on Saturday evening.
"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?"
Domenicali did not say which of the two cancelled races would be reinstated, but Sky Sports suggested Bahrain would be slotted in at the beginning of October between Baku and Singapore.
The decision would need to be taken before the August summer break for logistical reasons, Domenicali said.
The last two rounds of this F1 season, which currently has only 22 races, are also scheduled for the Gulf with Qatar followed by the season-closer in Abu Dhabi in December.
The F1 boss said he hoped they would go ahead.
"Our duty is to make sure we are ready to run our calendar as it is planned," he said.
"And we are monitoring the situation because 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."
The United States and Iran are engaged in negotiations aimed at bringing a lasting end to the war in the Middle East.
(P.Toussaint--LPdF)
