Qatar Insists F1 and MotoGP Are Still On for November Despite Iran War, but Reports Say MotoGP May Already Be Ready to Drop It

Qatar wants the world to know it's open for racing. Whether the racing series agree is a different question.

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation President Abdul Rahman bin Abdullatif Al Mannai said Tuesday, September 1, that the country is still planning to host both a Formula One race on November 29 and a MotoGP round on November 8, both at the Lusail International Circuit near Doha, according to Reuters and confirmed by Al Jazeera, The Straits Times and TimesLIVE.

"Qatar has been safe for months now," Al Mannai said in a Q&A issued by the QMMF. "Our airport is 100 percent operational, including transit flights between Asia and Europe. If you visit Qatar, you will see we are back to normal life."

The war hasn't stopped, even if Qatar has been quiet

The US-Israel conflict with Iran started in February 2026 and has led to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel, according to Reuters. Washington has largely avoided striking Iran's major oil and gas infrastructure, a step Iran has warned would trigger "devastating attacks" against its Gulf neighbors, per the same Reuters reporting carried by The Straits Times and TimesLIVE.

That restraint hasn't meant the fighting has stopped. GPblog reported that the United States carried out new strikes on Iranian targets on Sunday, August 30, and that the region was "unsettled again" as recently as the night before its report published. Al Mannai himself conceded the uncertainty: "There are things that we cannot predict. It's difficult. We don't know what's going to happen. The situation has been fluid, even though it's been really quiet so far."

F1's decision is coming, and Europe is the backup plan

Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali has said the series will make a final call by mid-September on whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds can go ahead, according to PlanetF1. If they can't, Domenicali said the season will end in Europe instead: "We cannot go to other places. So the end will eventually be in Europe." Imola has been floated as the leading option, with Portimao also mentioned, though Domenicali stressed nothing is confirmed.

This wouldn't be F1's first scheduling casualty from the war. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were both cancelled earlier in the 2026 season, according to GPblog, with Bahrain's race relocated to Sepang, Malaysia, in early October under the Bahrain Grand Prix name. The World Endurance Championship has already cancelled its own October 24 Qatar round, choosing to swap its Middle East races for European ones instead, per Grande Prêmio.

The money at stake is real. The Middle East races are, according to Reuters' reporting, significant contributors to F1's revenue through hosting fees worth "many tens of millions of dollars." This explains why organizers on both sides keep saying the plan is still a go, even as the deadline closes in.

MotoGP's public optimism may not match the private math

MotoGP's version of this story looks similar on the surface but reads differently underneath. Newly appointed MSEG deputy CEO Carlos Ezpeleta told motorcycle.com the series remains in "active talks" with Qatari authorities and wants a resolution before the Asian tour opens with the Japanese Grand Prix on October 4. "It's not the same managing for six events or seven," he said, framing the urgency around the title fight rather than logistics.

But motorcycle.com reported that The Race's own sourcing tells a less optimistic story: a decision is expected within days, and MotoGP now appears set to drop Qatar outright for 2026. A rumored replacement weekend at Sepang has reportedly been ruled out too, which would trim the calendar from 22 rounds to 21 with no substitute event. Ezpeleta, speaking separately to Motorsport's Spanish edition and cited by Grande Prêmio, acknowledged the series has "not ruled out" relocating the race and noted that dropping one round from a commercial standpoint is "clearly more than sufficient" for a 21-race season. This represents a notably more hedged tone than his public comments about wanting to preserve the Lusail date.

PlanetF1's own coverage flagged the tension directly, questioning "why the uncertainty now, and why the mixed messaging" between organizers publicly insisting everything is on track and Domenicali's more guarded posture behind the scenes.

One owner, two calendars

Both series now share a corporate parent. Liberty Media, which has held F1's commercial rights since 2017, completed an 84 percent acquisition of Dorna Sports, MotoGP's commercial rights holder, in July 2025 in a deal worth roughly €4.3 billion (about $5.0 billion at the time), according to motorcycle.com. This means the Qatar decision for one series is increasingly being weighed against the other's.

The stakes extend into 2027. MotoGP's provisional 2027 opener is set for Thailand on March 7, with Qatar penciled in as round two a week later, per Grande Prêmio. F1's own 2027 calendar announcement has been pushed back while this year's Qatar question gets sorted out, according to motorcycle.com.

Formula One's decision is due by mid-September. MotoGP's may land sooner. If The Race's reporting holds, Lusail's November 8 MotoGP round could be off the calendar before F1 even makes its call.