F1 ready with backup plan should Middle East races be cancelled
The Italian emphasised there was no concern now that they might not be held.
Qatar is due to host the penultimate round of the championship on November 30 with Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina following on December 7 with what has been a title decider in the past.
Iran responded to US participation in Israel's 12-day air war against Iran last month by firing missiles at a US airbase in Qatar, just across the Gulf from Iran.
Airline services in the Middle East have been heavily disrupted with some countries closing their airspace for a period.
Domenicali said Formula One was in daily contact with promoters in the Middle East, who he said remained relaxed and closely monitoring the situation.
'To say something on that is difficult,' he replied when asked if he believed there was a real risk of the races not happening.
'So far, we don't have this sort of signal and we are hoping not. So I don't want to even think about it, mainly for the bigger picture and not for the racing itself, and in case of, we have a plan.
'But let's hope this will not be even thinkable.'
Qatar and Abu Dhabi are the last two races in a triple-header on successive weekends that starts with Las Vegas on November 22 with the cars then flown straight to the Middle East.
While weather conditions in December would make it tricky to host replacement races at some European tracks there are warmer options such as Portugal's Algarve circuit, which was used during the Covid-19 pandemic.
'Europe is big, the temperatures are quite mild in certain areas,' said Domenicali, who agreed one circuit might host both races. 'Definitely we cannot go in places where there will be snow.
'But I am not even thinking about that.
'We are not worried at all that this will have an effect on the championship.'
Formula One raced in Saudi Arabia in 2022 despite attacks launched by Yemen's Houthis on an oil facility near the Jeddah street circuit.
Domenicali said Formula One was there then because it was sure of the guarantees of safety but recognised situations could change fast.
'We need to be always ready and monitor the situation,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
16 minutes ago
- The Citizen
‘If you don't change you get left behind' – Erasmus on evolving Boks
The world champions kick off their Test season with a match against Italy in Pretoria this weekend. Rassie Erasmus is constantly looking to make the Springboks the best team in the game. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images The Springboks are constantly evolving and if they don't want to be left behind they need to continue to do so, according to coach Rassie Erasmus, as they prepare to officially open their international season against Italy at Loftus this weekend. The Boks got up and running with a non-Test against famed invitational side, the Barbarians, in Cape Town over the past weekend, and now play their first official Test of the season, in the opening game of their incoming series. The big win over the BaaBaas showed the Boks' impressive attacking threat, even in miserable and wet conditions, as they ran in eight tries and only conceded one, for a 54-7 result, and Erasmus said they want to build on that against the Italians. 'If you don't change, you get left behind. We started evolving when attack coach Tony Brown came in last year. You could see the intent last week, and if it wasn't so wet, more of the offloads would have stuck,' said Erasmus earlier this week. 'This group of senior guys who are playing this weekend want to continue with that. This team will definitely not slot back to 2019 when it was a kick-and-chase, pressure game for us. This team on Saturday must try and get it right.' Experienced team The team named to face Italy is chock full of experience and features a large number of double World Cup winners, which brought up questions about whether the Boks were going for a bit more of a conservative game, but Erasmus explained that even the older guys have been evolving with the new blood. 'As new blood comes in, we change. In 2019, Swys de Bruin (attack coach) withdrew a month before the World Cup and we met (replacement) Felix Jones in Japan. That is how much time we had to prepare on the attacking front,' said Erasmus. 'Then, post-2019, the Covid pandemic took two years of development away from us, and we had no preparation for the Lions series. 'Still, with the (limited) time we had going into the last World Cup, we played some good attacking rugby. None of these guys we're still picking are not coachable enough to evolve with us.' If the Boks get what they want out of the first Italian game, it is likely they will make a slew of changes for the second Test in Gqeberha, as they look to spread game time and give other players a run, with Erasmus saying that the players already know who is likely to play. That means a number of fringe players could get a chance, as well as a few debutants, while it will also be a chance for some stalwarts to come back from injury, with regular captain Siya Kolisi expected to play, along with Pieter-Steph du Toit, Grant Williams and Makazole Mapimpi.
IOL News
13 hours ago
- IOL News
SA's Lloyd Harris bows out of Wimbledon after defeat to Andrey Rublev
South Africa's Lloyd Harris plays a backhand return to Russia's Andrey Rublev during their men's singles second-round match at Wimbledon. Rublev won the match three sets to one. Meanwhile, in the day's featured match, Carlos Alcaraz ended Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon fairytale as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur. Harris qualified for the second round by upsetting the promising American talent Alex Michelsen in a marathon five-set thriller in the first round. However, that match seemed to take a lot out of him as Rublev eventually cruised to victory in their second-round outing. Rublev beat Harris by three sets to one to advance to the third round. Harris won the first set 6-7 after winning a one-sided tie-break 7-1. However, the Russian hit back in the match to claim the next three sets 6-5, 7-6 (7-5) and 6-3. South Africa's Lloyd Harris has once again failed to make it to the second week of a Grand Slam tournament after he was beaten by Russia's Andrey Rublev in their second-round match at Wimbledon on Wednesday. After a record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, Alcaraz avoided a seismic shock on Centre Court. The world number two had battled to a five-set win over 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini in a first-round clash lasting over four hours on Monday. He once again looked below his best, taking two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd. Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass. His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons. He hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Alcaraz spoils the party In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money. As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings. While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round. More accustomed to playing in front of a few hundred spectators on the US college circuit, Tarvet defied the vast rankings gap to Alcaraz and had 15,000 Centre Court fans cheering his every move. He never looked out of his depth, amassing eight break points in the first set as he pushed Alcaraz into a series of awkward errors. Each time Alcaraz seemed on the verge of cracking, the Spaniard produced a perfectly-timed winner to scramble out of trouble. Even with the first set in the bag, Alcaraz wasn't completely comfortable. Tarvet, hitting with power and poise, broke for the first time in the second game of the second set, waggling his finger in delight as the crowd roared their approval. Alcaraz quickly spoiled the party by breaking in the next game and again at 4-4 before serving out the set. When Alcaraz broke early in the third set, Tarvet gamely responded with a break of his own, only for the Spaniard to deliver the knockout blow with another break to secure his victory. AFP
IOL News
14 hours ago
- IOL News
Mbonambi warns of brutal forward battle as Springboks prepare for Italy
Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi believes Italy will be a fierce test at Loftus Versfeld this weekend. Photo: Timothy Bernard Independent Media Image: Timothy Bernard Independent Media It's almost a given that most South Africans expect the Springboks to comfortably dispatch of Italy at Loftus Versfeld this weekend. After all, in 16 previous encounters, Italy have beaten the Boks just once — a narrow 20–18 win in Florence back in 2016. A quick glance at the matchday 23 selected by Bok mentor Rassie Erasmus has only reinforced that conviction. It is a powerful unit, one with the potential to dismantle any opposition. Nonetheless, Bok hooker Bongi Mbonambi — named on the bench for Saturday's Test (kick-off 5pm) — has advised caution, as the 34-year-old believes a brutal battle up front is brewing. And the stats support his concern. During the Six Nations earlier this year, the Azzurri lost only two of their scrums, boasting a 93% success rate. At the other set-piece — the line-out — they achieved a 90% success rate, winning 63 throw-ins and losing only seven. At ruck time, meanwhile, they retained 96% of possession at the contact point. It all points to a team confident in their structure, according to Mbonambi. 'The Italian pack have proven themselves, especially in the Six Nations,' Mbonambi said on Wednesday, from their base in Johannesburg. 'We saw how hard they scrummed against top packs. They have a system that they believe in. They've proven themselves to be a threat, and they have a plan to use their pack. 'They have two clubs — Benetton and Zebre — at the moment, and a small pool of players to pick from, but the talent is there and you can see they're willing to work hard. 'The public will have a different look and feel towards the game,' Mbonambi added, 'but the planning for us this past week has been based on the perception that Italy are going to come down here with a massive challenge.' Naturally, the Italians will have to make a substantial step up to compete against the Boks on their home turf, but expecting anything less than an arm-wrestle could be to the hosts' own peril. In that vein, the Bok veteran identified the key personnel they will need to subdue this weekend. 'Their leaders are their loose-forwards and their centres, and they carry that team,' Mbonambi revealed. 'They also have a coach that drives their passion.' That group includes Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Izekor, Sebastian Negri, David Odiase, Ross Vintcent, Andrea Zambonin and Manuel Zuliani amongst the loose-forwards, with Damiano Mazza, Tommaso Menoncello, Giulion Bertaccini, Marco Zanon, Mirko Belloni and Paolo Odogwu his midfield picks.
