By Alan Baldwin
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Formula One will end the season in Europe if races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi cannot be held and has set a mid-September deadline, the Liberty Media-owned sport's Chief Cxecutive Stefano Domenicali said on Wednesday.
Races scheduled for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in April were called off due to the Iran war, with Malaysia's Sepang circuit now due to host the latter on October 4, with the Gulf kingdom paying most of the costs.
The FIA-sanctioned World Endurance Championship
(WEC) has already moved its last two rounds in Qatar and Bahrain to Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya and Italy's Monza in October and November.
"We will take the maximum time for us to see how the situation will develop and we will take the decision at the right time," Domenicali told reporters.
"The deadline for the decision of any possible change of the actual calendar is the middle of September.
"For us today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed. By the way, they are already sold out," he added. "If this will not be possible, the end of the season will be in Europe because we cannot go in other places."
Qatar is due to host F1 on November 29 and Abu Dhabi on December 6.
IMOLA CONFIRMED ON LIST OF CANDIDATES
The Italian confirmed Italy's Imola circuit, his birthplace and home to Ferrari as well as Mercedes' Formula One leader Kimi Antonelli, was on the list of possible replacements.
Informed sources have touted Imola, dropped from the calendar this year, as a leading candidate despite the weather at that time of year.
Domenicali said the temperatures in Las Vegas during the Saturday night race in November were colder than in Europe.
"There was a possibility of having two races in Las Vegas (to end the season) but we don't want to ruin a jewel that is growing," he said, adding that there would also be added competition with the regular NFL season.
The 2027 calendar has yet to be published, but Bahrain had been expected before the conflict erupted to take back its slot as season-opener from Australia in March.
Domenicali said Formula One planned to publish a schedule later in the year.
"Of course, in case the situation in the Middle East would not be solved, we have options, different plans," said the chief executive. "But the trigger for that of course is at the end of the year. So we still have a lot of time."
"We will keep, in any case, the target of 24 grands prix also for next year."
Portugal and Turkey will return as new rounds on the calendar next year and Domenicali said longer term there were positive negotiations with possible hosts in Africa and interest from Asia and South America.
"We have more requests in China, and Japan, but for the moment we want to stay with one race in China because we need to consolidate the market before thinking to have another option there," he added.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
