F1 could bring Portimão back in 2026 if Middle East races are cancelled. F1 2026 calendar: Portimão on standby as Middle East uncertainty continues.

According to reports from the United Kingdom, Portimão has emerged as Formula 1’s primary contingency plan should geopolitical tensions force the cancellation of one or more races in the Middle East during the closing stages of the 2026 season.

F1’s backup plan for the 2026 calendar is Portimão

With the conflict in Iran still ongoing and the summer break approaching, the deadline for finalising the second half of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar is drawing ever closer. An official decision regarding the fate of the Middle Eastern Grands Prix is expected in the coming weeks.

However, according to The Race, the Algarve International Circuit at Portimão is ready to step in and replace one of the final two races of the season, currently scheduled to take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi on the weekends of November 29 and December 6 respectively, should either event become impossible to stage.

Formula 1 is expected to wait as long as possible in the hope that the geopolitical situation in the Middle East improves, allowing the scheduled events to go ahead. If that proves impossible, however, concrete alternatives are already being evaluated, with Portimão emerging as the leading candidate.

The Portuguese circuit previously hosted Formula 1 in 2020 and 2021 before leaving the calendar. According to the report, it could now make a full-time return over the next two seasons if circumstances require it.

Formula 1 remains hopeful but is preparing contingency plans

For the moment, Portimão remains only a contingency plan, as Formula 1 continues to believe there is still a realistic possibility that the scheduled Middle Eastern Grands Prix can be held safely and that the geopolitical situation will improve.

Nevertheless, it appears increasingly unlikely that all 24 races originally scheduled for the 2026 season can be preserved. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has already acknowledged that there is insufficient space within the calendar to reschedule every event if multiple Grands Prix are cancelled.

Liberty Media is therefore preparing for several possible scenarios. The worst-case outcome, which we previously reported in March, would see the championship reduced to just 20 Grands Prix if Baku, Qatar and Abu Dhabi were all cancelled in addition to Bahrain and Jeddah.

A much more realistic and far more desirable scenario for Formula 1’s leadership would be a 23-race calendar, which would indicate that at least part of the Middle Eastern leg could still take place under safe conditions.

Everything ultimately depends on how the geopolitical situation develops over the coming weeks. What is already clear, however, is that Formula 1 cannot afford to delay its decision indefinitely.

This explains why discussions with Portimão and other potential replacement venues are already underway. According to the British publication, staging a second race in Las Vegas—if Qatar were to be cancelled—would be difficult because of its proximity to the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26, making the Portuguese circuit one of the strongest alternatives currently under consideration.