Where does the 2026 Formula 1 season end?

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 6 December at the Yas Marina Circuit. The Qatar Grand Prix at Losail comes a week earlier, on 29 November.

Why was Imola a back-up venue in 2026?

The conflict in the Middle East put the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races in doubt. Had they been called off, Imola would have held a single Grand Prix on 6 December in place of both.

When did an F1 season last end in Europe?

In 1997, when the European Grand Prix at Jerez was the final round of the season.

How many times has Abu Dhabi hosted the F1 season finale?

Fourteen times between 2009 and 2025 (2009, 2010 and every year since 2014), more than any other circuit.

Qatar and Abu Dhabi stay on F1 calendar as Imola stood down

Formula 1 told Imola on Tuesday it will not be needed, so the 2026 season ends as planned in Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December.

Imola can stand down. Formula 1 informed the Italian circuit on Tuesday that it will not be required, ending months of contingency work and leaving the 2026 calendar untouched: the Qatar Grand Prix on 29 November, then the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 6 December to close the championship.

An F1 spokesperson said the sport could not keep Imola waiting indefinitely. That does not mean the matter is closed. F1 and the FIA will keep monitoring the security picture until the last personnel have left Abu Dhabi.

One race instead of two

The conflict in the Middle East wiped out the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds in the spring. Bahrain's race was eventually run at Sepang in early October, while Saudi Arabia dropped off the schedule for good. By the summer, the Gulf double-header at the end of the year was in doubt as well.

The fallback was a single Grand Prix at Imola on 6 December in place of both Gulf events, with F1 covering the cost of the early preparation work. According to F1, conditions in Qatar and Abu Dhabi have not deteriorated in recent weeks, international flights are running, insurance remains valid and MotoGP staged its Qatar round last weekend. Those factors tipped the decision.

The 22-race threshold

The back-up race served a contractual purpose too. ESPN reported that the commercial agreement with the teams requires at least 22 races, and Las Vegas is round 21 of the current 23-round calendar. Should Qatar and Abu Dhabi now be cancelled after all, the season would most likely end in Las Vegas with 21 races.

Imola: 32 Grands Prix, never a finale

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari has staged 32 world championship Grands Prix since 1980, yet none of them closed a season. Michael Schumacher holds the record there with seven wins, while Max Verstappen took the three most recent editions in 2022, 2024 and 2025. After the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix the venue dropped off the calendar.

Had Imola stepped in, it would have been the first European season finale since 1997, when Jerez hosted the deciding round as the European Grand Prix.

Yas Marina, home of the finale

Abu Dhabi has hosted the last race of the year fourteen times since 2009, more than any other circuit in the sport's history. Adelaide comes next with eleven, all between 1985 and 1995. On 6 December the Yas Marina Circuit is set for its fifteenth.

Season finales by circuit — Venue of the final Grand Prix of each season, 1950–2025, the seven most frequent circuits
Label	Value	Note
Yas Marina Circuit	14	2009–2025
Adelaide Street Circuit	11	1985–1995
Watkins Glen	8	1961–1980
Autódromo José Carlos Pace	7	2004–2013
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	7	1964–1970
Suzuka Circuit	6	1996–2003
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza	6	1950–1957

None of Imola's 32 Grands Prix closed a season, and the last European finale was at Jerez in 1997.

A week earlier, Losail hosts a world championship round for the fifth time. Verstappen has won three of the four so far, and in Abu Dhabi he shares the record of five victories with Lewis Hamilton.

Title settled, second place wide open

The crown itself is no longer at stake. Andrea Kimi Antonelli wrapped up his first title in Mexico City and tops the 2026 standings on 390 points with nine wins. Behind him it is tight: Verstappen has 279 points, George Russell 262, Hamilton 261 and Charles Leclerc 249. Just 30 points separate second from fifth with three races left.

So the Gulf will decide the runner-up spot rather than the champion. Imola, meanwhile, goes back to waiting, its role as understudy having failed to win it a place back on the calendar.