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Formula 1's season can and will finish in the Middle East as things stand, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has adamantly declared.
F1 has races scheduled in Qatar on Nov. 29 and Abu Dhabi on Dec. 6, but both are under a cloud of uncertainty and confusion due to ongoing tensions and hostilities in the Middle East.
F1 had promised its teams clarity by mid-October but that deadline has come and gone.
Sources from multiple teams have told ESPN they are still in the dark about whether F1 will go to those events or cancel and go to Italian circuit Imola, which is on stand-by to host a standalone finale on Dec. 6 if needed.
Ben Sulayem, head of motor racing's governing body, said the perceived danger of finishing the season as scheduled have been overblown and insisted it will be business as usual as things stand.
Asked if F1 was fine to finish the season as scheduled, Ben Sulayem is quoted as replying by The-Race: "Yeah - fine".
Ben Sulayem was speaking at an event in the UK, the opening of the FIA's new Remote Operations Centre at Biggin Hill on the outskirts of London.
He said he would not have gone there and left his family in the Middle East if he was worried about their safety.
"One thing I would say: I have my children there [in the UAE]. You think I would leave them there and I'm here now with you?
"You have to be sensible in this. Saying, 'Are we going to have an issue?' is one thing.
"But what you read in the media is actually different than what we have there. What we read and see on TV, we say, 'Where is it?' We don't have that, really. Otherwise why would I stay there? Why would I leave my family there?
"Does this say that there is nothing that is going to happen? I can't predict this.
"I can only tell you today that there is nothing and the two races are going to happen."
Runaway points leader Kimi Antonelli is on the verge of the title, but an escalation in hostilities in the Middle East and a cancellation before he has secured the title risks him being crowned champion via a press release because there would be one less event left in terms of points.
F1 has stuck to a similar line to the FIA president over recent weeks.
Speaking ahead of the rearranged Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was another event initially cancelled due to the Iran war, F1 boss Stefano Domenicali appeared to say the races were definitely going ahead.
"Yes, as we've already said, the calendar is confirmed: the last two Grands Prix will be in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. This is the direction we've taken based on the information and reassurances we have -- and which we absolutely must have, of course. It's the strategy we'll apply until the end of the year."
F1 later clarified Domenicali's use of the word "confirmed", insisting the final races are still subject to change if required. It is unclear whether any teams will have logistical issues taking staff to the Middle East as things stand.
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- F1 still planning Middle East finale amid Kimi Antonelli title uncertainty - sources
Ben Sulayem claimed there would be no issue on the FIA side.
Asked if he would have any issue taking FIA staff to the Middle East, he replied: "I am happy, yes of course. Listen, I don't think the FIA staff would be more important to me than myself or my family. But if I am there it means I feel secure about this."
F1 was forced to cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's events in April due to the war in Iran.
Re-arranging the Bahrain event in Malaysia meant F1 will only need a single race - Imola - to replace the final two and fulfil its contractual obligation to teams and broadcasters of hosting the minimum of 22 races.