"We can't jump the gun," insists FIA president amidst ongoing confusion over final races of the season.

Much like what we are witnessing on track, in the Middle East the situation involving the United States and Iran is constantly yo-yoing. One minute it looks as though there will be peace, of a sort, only for hostilities to break out again.

Ever since the decision to cancel the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and move the Bahrain even to Malaysia (!?!), there has been doubt surrounding the fate of the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds, and with the races just three months away the sport has yet to make a decision.

"Being from that part of the world, we can't jump the gun and just say, 'That's it, we are cancelling' and then cancel," Ben Sulayem tells AP.

"Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not," he adds. "We will not. But we have also to listen to the governments and to the local promoter there."

F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has already said that, if necessary, the season will conclude at Imola - his home town - which should be interesting in early December.

However, the final decision on any cancellations is down to the FIA.

"The wellbeing of my family being there and the UAE nationals and everyone that lives there comes as a priority," says Sulayem as he clearly seeks to leave a decision until the last possible moment.

"For the time being, there is no emergency," he insists.

The cancellation of the Saudi and Bahrain events have already seen F1 take a hit in terms of its second quarter financials, and it will be desperately keen not to see a repeat in the final quarter.

On the other hand, despite the weather prospects, should Kimi Antonelli follow up his Monza fairy-tale by winning the 2026 title at Imola, one can just imagine the celebrations in Italy, conveniently, just months before the three-day celebration of the 2027 season gets underway in Milan.