Formula 1 is hoping to add the Bahrain Grand Prix back to the calendar in early October after it was forced to cancel two races from its schedule earlier this year.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were supposed to go ahead in April but were called off due to the United States-Israel war with Iran.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has now confirmed the possibility of restoring a race if the “conditions are right,” which ESPN sources have indicated would be the Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of October 2-4.
“If there is something that we can announce also related to the possibility of seeing if there is any space for what has not been done so far, we’re going to do it, in the right moment and the right conditions,” Domenicali told Sky Sports at the British Grand Prix.
“That is really the hope, because if all the conditions are right, we’re going to go ahead with our plan. If there is a chance, why not?”
Domenicali said a final decision would need to be made before F1’s summer break, which follows the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26, in order to plan for the logistical challenge of adding the extra race.
“I think that the gap to do the eventual possibility of doing one of the races that we have not done, we need to do it before the summer break,” he added.
If Bahrain returns it would slot into the free weekend between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and Singapore Grand Prix, creating a triple header of races over consecutive weekends.
That would result in three triple headers to finish the season, with the U.S., Mexico and Brazilian Grands Prix scheduled after Singapore and the season set to finish over three consecutive races in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
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The running of the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are also dependent on the security situation in the region, but Domenicali remains optimistic they will go ahead.
“Our duty is to make sure we are ready to run our calendar as it is planned,” he said.
“And we are monitoring the situation because it would be an incredibly positive message for sport, and also politically, that we are moving in this direction, because if this is happening, it is something we can say is behind us.”
