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The FIA have cancelled a Saudi Arabian rally race scheduled for November as a decision looms for the finale of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Rally Saudi Arabia, due to be the final round of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) season on 12-15 November in Jeddah, has been canned due to “ongoing regional developments.”
The announcement comes as F1 faces a decision over the end of the current campaign. Qatar (29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December) are currently pencilled in to stage the final two races of the season.
F1 is still pencilled in to conclude the season in Abu Dhabi on 6 December (Getty)
For now, F1 is working towards that planned finale, though a rough deadline of the end of September has been set to assess and formalise the plan ahead. It is understood Imola in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has been lined up as a contingency plan to end the season should the Middle Eastern races be cancelled, likely on the weekend of Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi recently announced its full musical line-up for the race weekend, including The Script, Lewis Capaldi and Imagine Dragons, suggesting plans are still in place to hold the traditional end-of-season event on Yas Island.
However, given that an end to Iran-USA hostilities in the region does not appear to be forthcoming, F1 executives will need to make a firm decision within the next month in order to allow adequate planning time for teams should the season-end be switched to Italy.
A 24-hour endurance event in Dubai, 85 miles from Abu Dhabi, has also been switched to South Africa in January.
Commenting on the decision to cancel Rally Saudi Arabia, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “Ongoing regional developments mean that the WRC element of Rally Saudi Arabia will not proceed this year.
“These are never easy decisions, particularly after the significant work undertaken by everyone involved in preparing for the event. While the WRC element of the event will not take place this year, our confidence in the organisers and in the long-term future of the rally remains unchanged.”
F1 cancelled races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April due to regional instability, though Bahrain will hold their race at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on 4 October.
Bahrain is also set to host the 2027 season-opener in March, with Australia ruling itself out of the prospect of filling in as a replacement should the Middle East still pose too much of a risk.
