F1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali has explained how a potential clash with the NFL and UK customs laws after Brexit stopped a second race in Las Vegas.
With the Middle East crisis forcing the postponement of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs in April, the ongoing conflict means there is huge uncertainty about whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races, scheduled for November 30th and December 6th, can go ahead.
The Bahrain race has been added back to the calendar, and is to take place in Malaysia, with Domenicali confirming that a decision over whether Qatar and Abu Dhabi can go ahead is the middle of September.
Should both races be called off, an extra race is to be held in Europe, with Imola and Portimao both suggested as potential stand-ins, with Imola understood to be the front-runner.
One idea raised earlier in the year was the potential for double-header to take place in Las Vegas, but Domenicali has explained how a potential clash with the NFL, with the race, set for November 21st, clashing with Weeks 10 and 11 of the regular season. Fixtures include the Dallas Cowboys against the San Francisco 49ers, and Buffalo Bills against the Miami Dolphins.
An extra layer of complexity, Domenicali added to shelving the idea for Las Vegas to host two races was Brexit-related customs paperwork for the nine UK-based teams, after the country's withdrawal from the European Union
"The fascinating side is that if I look at the statistics of the temperature in Europe at that time, it is less cool than Las Vegas' average temperature when we are racing," Domenicali told media, including RacingNews365.
"There was the possibility of having two races in Las Vegas, but we don't want to ruin a jewel that is growing by undervaluing what we are doing there, and don't forget that in that period of the year we are fighting in the U.S. against the NFL.
"That is a major sport; there are a lot of fans watching that, so we need to avoid any kind of situation where we put ourselves in front of something that, of course, is still quite big in the U.S.
"Therefore, considering the constraint that we have, we need to go back to close all the Brexit-connected documentation from abroad in the UK and then go to another place.
"Therefore, the only possibility is to finish in Europe within the same framework of time."
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