FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem is adamant that the season ending races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will go ahead as planned.

Speaking to the media at the unveiling of the new Remote Operations Centre at Biggin Hill, Ben Sulayem insisted that he is confident the two races will conclude the 2026 season.

Other than the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, in recent weeks tension in the region has further increased as a result of conflict between Saudi Arabi and Houthi rebels, backed by Iran.

The original conflict led to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds of the world championship, though a subsequent deal saw the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia.

Though some point to the fact that the Saudi Arabian/Houthi conflict is not in close proximity to the UAE, and therefore not a significant threat, the situation in the region remains volatile and consequently officials have had to draw up alternatives which would most likely mean hosting a race at Imola following the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali has consistently said that the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races will happen, and Mohammed ben Sulayem agrees.

Asked about the situation, and whether he thinks it is "fine" at the moment, the Emirati replied: "Yeah, fine!

"Does this say mean that there is nothing going to happen? I cannot predict this," he admitted. "I can only tell you today that there is nothing and the two races are going to happen."

Confirming that his family remains in the Emirates, he said: "They're fine. I have my children there, you think I would leave them there, and I'm here now with you?

"You have to be sensible in this and saying, 'are we going to have an issue?' What you read in the media is actually different than we have there. You know, we read and we see the TV, we don't have that, really. Otherwise, why will I stay there, you know? Why would I leave my family?

"But does this say that there is nothing going to happen? I cannot predict with this. I can only tell you today that there is nothing and the two races are going to happen."

Asked about FIA staff, he replied: "Listen, I don't think the FIA staff would be more important to me than myself and my family, you know, but if I am there, it means I feel secure about it.

"But we don't know for the time being. As I said, the Dakar, if we hear anything from them, we will adjust. When I say them is the Federation of Motorsport in Saudi Arabia, we will adjust to that and we will help. Like when we helped with Bahrain. I mean, when the request was there to not organise the event in Saudi Arabia, then there was another call from the Crown Prince of Bahrain to move it to Malaysia. The relationship was there and it's sending a message that, you know, like with all of this, we still will have motorsport."

Asked if Imola would remain on standby, he said: "Of course, the FIA is always ready."

"I told them to have another team ready from the FIA if there was nothing going on," he added. "But maybe some of the governments say, you cannot travel, so what do we do?

"If everybody is there and then the teams are there and the FOM is running it and suddenly we say, oh, we cannot have our race director, we cannot have our stewards. You have to be ready, and you have to have another team ready in case."

The FIA president cited the example of the Lebanese round of the Middle East Rally Championship, which, following the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian round, was staffed by officials from Cyprus, Greece, and Jordan.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Superbird70, 9 hours ago

"If Kimi closes out the championship by Mexico the last two races will be dropped.

'Out of an abundance of caution.'

Must protect the influencers, er fans."

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2. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 9 hours ago

"An Emirati saying all is well and they'll be racing in Abu Dhabi... colour me surprised."

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3. Posted by kenji, 10 hours ago

"Either MBS has stitched up a deal with the terrorists or else he is gambling on non action week ends and hoping nothing wrecks the plot! I still am sceptical that it will all go to plan after all Liberty is the epitome of all things American and Iran has thrived on their rabid rhetoric of 'Death to America, the Great Satan'. I can understand Max's outlook and his current analysis. Would you trust the Houthis to turn the other cheek? Never.
"

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4. Posted by Chester, 12 hours ago

"No. It will not happen. Typical mentality of that region. Emotion and pride replace logic. "

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Qatar and Abu Dhabi will happen, insists Ben Sulayem

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