Lewis Hamilton has added his voice to the question mark hanging over Formula One's season-ending Middle East double-header, saying he wants the sport to push ahead with the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix despite the regional conflict. The seven-time champion, now driving for Ferrari, made the comments in Baku ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, round 15 of the 2026 season.
The plan, as it stands, is a Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November followed by the Abu Dhabi finale on 6 December. F1 has already drawn up a backup: if either race falls through, Imola in Italy stands ready to step in. There's no fixed decision deadline, though the sport is expected to keep at least one of the two Gulf rounds if circumstances allow.
The season has already felt the impact. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia lost their races earlier this year after war broke out involving Israel, the United States and Iran. Hamilton admitted he doesn't know the real risk levels but trusts F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to make the right call. "I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East," he said. Security concerns have also been raised within the F1 paddock's travelling community, and Azerbaijan's own border with Iran adds a layer of sensitivity to the weekend in Baku, held over 51 laps of the 6.003-kilometre Baku City Circuit.
Hamilton had plenty more to say beyond the geopolitics. He criticised a decision by the F1 Commission to shorten race distances from 305 to 290 kilometres from 2027, roughly two or three laps depending on the track. The cut is tied to new power-unit rules — the combustion-to-electric power split shifts from 53-47 in 2026 to 58-42 in 2027 and 60-40 in 2028, and higher fuel flow would otherwise force teams into bigger, costlier tanks. Hamilton thinks it's the wrong direction: modern cars are physically easier to drive than ever, and he's had races where he wanted more laps, not fewer. Mercedes' George Russell shrugged off the change, while McLaren's Lando Norris called it a "good compromise" that could push races to be decided by driving rather than energy management.
The Ferrari driver was equally blunt about Monaco getting a sprint weekend in 2027, one of 10 sprints on a 24-race calendar. Extra qualifying there is welcome, he argued, but the narrow street circuit makes overtaking nearly impossible and needs a format of its own. His verdict on sprint racing at Monaco: the races are "as dull as it gets" and sprints aren't the answer.
For race-going travellers, the takeaway is uncertainty. If you're eyeing a late-season trip to Lusail or Yas Marina, bookings are best kept flexible — refundable hotels and flights — until F1 confirms the calendar. Motorsport fans with set plans in the Gulf should watch for updates in the weeks before the Qatar race, while anyone who had hoped for Bahrain or Jeddah this year will need to wait and see what the 2027 schedule looks like.
