Rather than rescheduling one of the cancelled races, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali is concerned that an escalation of the war could threaten further events.

With every passing day events in the Middle East get more and more confused, and despite talk of truces, cease fires and agreements there appears to be no end in sight.

The Bahrain and Saudi events were cancelled just weeks into the war, and while there has been talk of rescheduling them, F1 bosses are concerned at the loss of further races unless the situation eases.

F1 is monitoring the situation very carefully.

"As with Covid, we have to try to be as pragmatic as possible," Domenicali tells L'Equipe. "The fact that we've withdrawn the Bahrain and Jeddah races so far stems from the fact that we knew it wasn't possible to go there at the time.

"Since we're entertainment, a sport that brings joy and pleasure," he adds. "You have to go to a place where that's truly the atmosphere. We hope, for Formula 1 but especially for the world, that the situation improves as quickly as possible."

Though the conflict is ostensibly between the US, Israel and Iran, other countries in the region have been dragged into it, consequently there are fears over the season-ending events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

"Promoters in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are already selling tickets, and sales are going very, very well," says Domenicali. "But there will come a time when we have to make decisions, because it's not like a football match where there are only two teams, 22 players, and where substitutions are easy. For us, there's the logistical complexity, the costs.

"I can confirm that we have a contingency plan," he admits. "If the two end-of-year races cannot take place because the war is not over, we will have other alternatives."

Unsurprisingly, he is unwilling to go into details, but both Istanbul and Silverstone have been mentioned in recent weeks, both having helped out during the pandemic, the latter having hosted a double-header in 2020.

One thing Domenicali was willing to confirm is that Las Vegas will not play host to the season finale.

"No, it won't be the last race on the calendar," he insists. "I can confirm that."

As for talk of rescheduling the cancelled events, he admits: "I think rescheduling both is impossible. Even rescheduling just one won't be easy," he adds. "There aren't many available slots."