Imola mooted as host for F1 season-ender, Malaysia confirmation expected soon

[p]Qatar is ‌due to host the penultimate round of the championship ‌on November 29th, with Abu Dhabi following on December 6th.[/p][p]The current ‌plan is for both to proceed, but informed sources indicated ‌Imola's Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, in the birthplace of Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali, had become a frontrunner to step in ‌should circumstances rule out the Middle East.[/p][p][b]Italy's ⁠[i]Gazzetta dello Sport[/i] newspaper reported ‌that Imola, dropped from the calendar this season, could return as ​the finale after the November Las Vegas Grand Prix.[/b][/p][p]Sources at the Hungarian Grand Prix confirmed to Reuters that it ​was on the cards.[/p][p]If confirmed, Imola would be the first season-ending race in Europe ⁠since Spain's Jerez circuit hosted ​the finale in 1997.[/p][p]With Ferrari in the hunt for a first Formula 1 title of any sort since 2008, an Italian finale would also be likely to be well attended.[/p][embed guid="315ec78f-586a-41f8-908d-4c7c9608d763" url="https://x.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/2080985586601427292" social-type="twitter" /][p]Portugal's Portimao circuit ‌had previously been considered a likely alternative, along with the Istanbul circuit, but construction work in the winter months ahead of their returns to the calendar in 2027 could make that difficult.[/p][p]Malaysia is set to slot in on October 4th, between Azerbaijan on September 26th and Singapore on October 11th, as a replacement for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was called off in April along with Saudi Arabia's race in ‌Jeddah.[/p][p][b]"For F1, we will announce something on Sunday," [/b]Malaysian Prime Minister ​Anwar Ibrahim told local reporters on Saturday.[/p][p]While hosted by ‌the Sepang circuit, for the first time since 2017, the race looks likely to be billed as a Bahrain Grand Prix hosted by Malaysia, which would also overcome any local concerns about hosting fees with the Gulf kingdom ⁠reportedly prepared to foot ⁠the bill.[/p][p]Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund ‌Mumtalakat owns Formula 1 champions McLaren.[/p]