Scott Gulbransen
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has put Istanbul Park squarely in play as a 2026 replacement, a year ahead of its scheduled comeback, after the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to the military conflict in Iran.
The calendar problem the FIA has been quietly working on for weeks is starting to look a lot less quiet.
Lost Races, Lost Money so Move Isn’t a Surprise
F1 already pulled both Middle East rounds because of the regional conflict, leaving a 22-race season and a five-week dead zone between Japan and Miami that fans felt every day of. Replacing those rounds is the harder part. Now Ben Sulayem has confirmed Istanbul is one of the names on the whiteboard.
“Around Qatar, we could postpone by a week, push everything back,” Ben Sulayem told NextGen-Auto. “Otherwise, perhaps we could have Turkey this year if they finalize their certification and meet the other requirements.”
Turkey was already booked for a 2027 return as part of a five-year deal that runs through 2031. Pulling that forward by a season would patch the calendar without forcing F1 to reinvent the wheel. Istanbul Park has the layout, the paddock infrastructure, and the recent track record. The circuit stepped up during the pandemic years when nobody else could, and it sits well outside the conflict zone.
A few scenarios are on the table. One slots a race into the open weekend between Azerbaijan and Singapore on Oct. 2-4. Another stacks four straight races at the end of the year and pushes Abu Dhabi to Dec. 13. The FIA’s logistical preference is still to bring Bahrain back, and Saudi officials are leaning hard on Jeddah being reinstated late in the season for commercial reasons.
Ben Sulayem was blunt about the bigger picture.
“Sport can wait. What is more important? Human beings or motorsport?” he said. “God forbid, if this continues until October or November, we simply won’t have to go, because safety comes first.”
Yet, he’s considering it.
For American fans who just got their Miami fix, an extra race on the back half of the calendar would be welcome. For F1, Istanbul is the cleanest fix on the board. Whether it actually happens depends on factors that have nothing to do with a steering wheel.
