F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has finally confirmed that the sport is looking to restore at least one of the 2026 season’s two cancelled races to the calendar, with the summer break a key date.

April was unexpectedly empty of F1 this year after conflict in the Middle East caused the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain grands prix to be cancelled for safety and logistical reasons.

There have been murmurings this summer, though, that at least one of the races could be reinstated, likely as part of a new autumn triple-header. Domenicali’s comments to Sky Sports this week are the closest F1 has come to confirming that will be the case.

In slightly roundabout comments, in which he refused to outright commit to a 23rd race (likely the Bahrain Grand Prix, not Saudi), he appeared to suggest that an official announcement could be forthcoming before the summer break at the end of the month.

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Domenicali sort of says something about the Bahrain Grand Prix, ish

“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,” he said.

“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?”

He added: “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.”

Got that?

He also hailed the ‘political message’ that the reinstatement of the race would send, saying that the race running would be a sign that the conflict which caused the original cancellation ‘is something we can say is behind us’.

“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.”

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Lewis Hamilton has once again hailed his home crowd at Silverstone after a brilliant afternoon at one of F1’s greatest tracks.

The seven-time world champion took pole for Saturday’s sprint race after dominating Friday’s sprint qualifying session, setting the fastest time in each of the three segments to leave fans in no doubt as to who the race favourite should be.

The much-lauded ‘Landostand’ may have been slightly disappointed to see their man qualify just sixth after a tough day on the track – with fellow Brits George Russell (fifth) and Avrid Lindblad (tenth) also in the top 10 for the Saturday morning sprint race start.

They hid that disappointment well though, roaring on Hamilton on a weekend where he could become the first driver in F1 history to win ten grands prix at a single circuit.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: British Grand Prix timesheets and grid positions

Hamilton: I love this place

Speaking after the sprint qualifying session, the 41-year-old said: “I love this place, I love this crowd, and I can’t express to you how big a dream it is, and still to this day, when you’re building up to this race and you think about every corner and the flow you can get into at this track if you get the setup right and if you’ve got the right team behind you.

“The car’s felt great today thanks to everyone back at the factory, just continuing to push. We brought tiny little bits here. Every single weekend we’re showing up with something. Everyone’s pushing to the max.

“I’m really grateful to get that pole. I was quick through all the session but still, it was only 10 milliseconds, so it was very close to these guys. The team really deserves it, so a big, big thank you to everyone here.” 

Hamilton’s record at his home track is one of the most astonishing in the sport’s history, with his fourth place finish last year representing the first time since 2013 that he failed to stand on the podium at a race at Silverstone – a 12-race run, including the bonus 70th Anniversary race in the Covid season of 2020.

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Lewis Hamilton threw down the gauntlet to his F1 rivals on Friday lunchtime at Silverstone, setting the fastest time of free practice by more than two tenths of a second over championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

The seven-time world champion was more than half a second clear of any other driver – with team-mate Charles Leclerc third on the timing sheets at nearly sixth tenths of a second back – and more than a second up on reigning champion Lando Norris.

The session was the only practice running that teams will get this weekend, with sprint qualifying hot on its heels later on Friday in place of FP2 and the sprint race replacing FP3.

Oscar Piastri sparked the only minor on-track excitement during the session when he spun off in Becketts, but kept his white and green McLaren out of the barriers to prevent any damage worse then a wrecked set of tyres.

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British Grand Prix FP1 times

Is there F1 today?

Sprint qualifying is next up on Friday, July 3, at 16:30 (local time/BST). To read the complete breakdown of the times and how to watch in select locations click here.

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