Formula One Season Finale in Qatar and Abu Dhabi Confirmed

Formula One will close its season in the Middle East as planned, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi confirmed and Imola stood down from standby duty.

The teams were formally notified that the championship will finish under the floodlights at Lusail and Yas Marina, with Formula One saying all 11 outfits backed the decision. Any lingering doubt over the final leg of the calendar eased once MotoGP successfully staged its Qatar round at the Lusail circuit near Doha last weekend, proving the venue ready for another top-tier event.

Imola had been pencilled in for December 6th as an emergency fallback, a late-season bolt-on if the war involving Iran and the wider regional tension made it impossible to race in Qatar on November 29th and in Abu Dhabi the following weekend. That contingency now disappears. The Italian track, a home stage for both newly crowned champion Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari, had a hard deadline, and local organisers were told on Tuesday that their services would not be required.

With the dust already settled on both world championships, the story of the year shifts from who wins to how the sport signs off. Antonelli, just 20, wrapped up the drivers’ crown in Mexico earlier this month, becoming the youngest champion in Formula One history, and Mercedes completed the double in Brazil last Sunday. What remains is the spectacle – and the fight in the junior ranks.

“We are ready for Qatar and Abu Dhabi,” he posted on Instagram. “We are fully prepared and committed to delivering two outstanding grand prix weekends and a spectacular conclusion to the FIA Formula One world championship. We look forward to welcoming drivers, teams and fans to two iconic circuits for an unforgettable finish to the season.”

His words frame the closing act: two night-race style showcases on modern, high-speed layouts, with the title already settled but reputations still very much in play.

The confirmation also locks the F1 calendar at 23 rounds for the year and, crucially, guarantees that the Formula Two title will be settled on track rather than in a boardroom. Qatar and Abu Dhabi will host the final chapters of that battle.

Brazilian Rafael Camara, fresh from making his Formula One race debut with Haas in front of his home crowd at the weekend, leads the F2 standings. He holds a seven-point advantage over Red Bull-backed Bulgarian Nikola Tsolov, with Ireland’s Alex Dunne of Rodin Motorsport another 11 points back in third. Two races, two very different circuits, and a narrow spread at the top – the kind of run-in young drivers dream of and dread in equal measure.

The wider geopolitical backdrop has hovered over the calendar for weeks. On Monday, US president Donald Trump said he planned to hold off on new military strikes against Iran for the time being after appeals from countries in the region, including from Qatar’s prime minister. That pause in escalation has given Formula One enough confidence to stay the course.

So the travelling circus will not detour to Imola. Instead, it heads to the desert, where a 20-year-old champion, a dominant Mercedes outfit and a pack of ambitious juniors will try to leave one last mark before the lights go out on the season.