How the result of the US midterms could throw F1 schedule into chaos
Formula 1 is pushing ahead with plans to finish the season as scheduled with a double-header at Qatar and Abu Dhabi, despite recent attacks on the airport of Saudi capital Riyadh.
But the outcome of the US midterm elections could still throw the end of the year into chaos.
F1 is pushing ahead with plans to end the season with a double header in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (pictured). Getty Images
Earlier this month, the Riyadh airport was twice attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the first of which killed a dozen people and injured hundreds more. Saudi authorities said the second attack caused only a handful of injuries and infrastructure damage.
Qatar's Lusail Circuit north of Doha, and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi are scheduled to close the season on November 29 and December 6. The venues are located 480km and 800km from the Riyadh airport.
By comparison, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which was supposed to host the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April before it was cancelled due to its proximity to the conflict, is 860km away from the airport, on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
On Wednesday morning (AEDT), FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told reporters the situation in the two countries was currently "fine". He said his family continued to reside in the Emirates, which he would not have done if he felt it was unsafe to do so.
“They’re fine. One thing I would say, I have my children there – you think I would leave them there, and I’m here now with you?,” he said per motorsport.com.
“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 (would) I stay there, you know? Why would I leave my family?
"But does this (mean) that there is nothing going to happen? I cannot predict this. I can only tell you today that there is nothing and the two races are going to happen."
Ben Sulayem did, however, cast doubt on the viability of the Dakar Rally, scheduled to begin in Saudi Arabia on January 1. He said it could be moved to Morocco if the situation remained unstable.
US president Donald Trump said he considered joining the Saudi strikes against the Houthis in Yemen following the Riyadh airport attacks, having previously resisted requests from the Saudis for direct military intervention.
Trump has since declared he would not commence any strikes on Iran before the US midterm elections on November 3.
If Trump’s Republican Party holds on to the majority in the house and the senate in the midterms, he will be able to virtually do as he chooses in terms of if, when and how he decides to attack Iran.
US President Donald Trump said he would not launch any fresh attacks on Iran before the US midterm election. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
If the Democrats take both, funding for any attacks can be blocked.
But that doesn’t mean those attacks won’t happen. As Commander-in-Chief, Trump still controls the military, but he would somehow have to scrape together the funding to do so from elsewhere.
US attacks have been carried out on numerous targets along the Iran coast. In July, a pier in the southern Iranian village of Banood, and then the Hengam Island near the Strait of Hormuz were both targeted. The Banood pier is just 235km from the Lusail circuit, and Hengam Island only 270km from Yas Marina.
Should further attacks along the coast be launched, it’s impossible to see how F1 could finish the season as planned.
Ben Sulayem had previously declared the Imola circuit in central Italy had been put on standby to hold a potential decider.
Equipment used at the Singapore Grand Prix has been sent via sea to the Middle East, and will have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
F1 is not the only sport pushing ahead with plans to hold events in the Emirates. MotoGP said its delayed Qatar race would be held at the Lusail venue from November 6-8 – the weekend immediately following the US midterms.
Kimi Antonelli is an outside chance to win the world championship this weekend. Getty Images
A high-profile boxing card, headlined by a bout between Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli for the super middleweight championship, is scheduled to be held in Riyadh on October 31.
The WWE Crown Jewel event is also scheduled for November 7.
But F1 will be hoping to hold out on an announcement to avoid deciding the world championship by press release.
Mercedes young gun Kimi Antonelli leads the championship by 102 points over teammate George Russell, and is an outside chance to wrap up the championship this weekend at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
To achieve the required 125-point buffer, Antonelli needs to win the race and hope his closest challengers – Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton – strike trouble to get the job done. It is therefore far more likely he will secure the title in Mexico City a week later.
However, if Antonelli leaves Austin with a lead of 100 points or more, and F1 were to next week announce it had scrapped plans to go to the Middle East and would end the season at Imola, he is world champion.
Practice for the US Grand Prix commences on Saturday morning (AEDT), with the race to get underway at 7am Monday.
