Lewis Hamilton said he hopes the Formula One season can still end at the two scheduled rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with the finale still in doubt because of the war in the Middle East.
Formula One is pressing ahead with its original plan, although a contingency is understood to be in place to host a final round in Imola if the volatile situation means both meetings have to be cancelled.
Speaking before this weekend’s grand prix in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran, Hamilton said he trusted the sport to make the right decision, given the unease among many in the paddock of racing in the region while the conflict continues.
“I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East,” he said. “From what I have read, things seem OK out there, but I don’t have all the information and I don’t know what the risk levels are. I trust in Stefano [Domenicali, F1’s chief executive] to make the right decision for the sport. And I do hope we get to go there.”
Whether the races take place or not could affect the world championship. Kimi Antonelli leads his Mercedes teammate George Russell by 81 points with nine meetings remaining. If that number was reduced to eight the Italian could close it out even sooner than might be expected. As things stand a lead of 100 points after Mexico, in five races time, or 75 after Brazill would suffice.
A decision is unlikely to be forthcoming until after Antonelli has the championship won, however, at the very least to keep the title fight alive as long as possible.
In March the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix were called off because of the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The Bahrain race has been moved to next weekend at Sepang in Malaysia and it is believed F1 must deliver at least 23 races to meet its commitments to broadcasters, meaning the cancellation of Qatar and Abu Dhabi would make a finale at Imola imperative.
The promoters of the races are bullish that they will go ahead but are always reluctant to cancel as they would still be liable for the race fee payable to F1. If the sport cancels, the fees do not have to be paid.
Abu Dhabi organisers have gone as far as confirming musical acts set to perform including Zara Larsson, the Script, Imagine Dragons and Lewis Capaldi. However, that the situation was far from settled was illustrated this week when Larsson said she would not be performing.
Responding to a post on social media asking her: “Please read about what UAE is doing to Sudan then cancel your Abu Dhabi show,” the Swedish singer posted: “I will not be going to Abu Dhabi.”
This was later deleted but Larsson did go on to confirm she would not perform at the meeting. “Maybe it came off as a impulsive response to a comment,” she said. “But I have spent some time thinking about everything and decided that to not do the show aligns with me the most right now, for many different personal reasons beyond politics.”
