FIA President Ben Sulayem highlights technological milestones being reached, new talent emerging on global stage

Dubai, UAE, 11h June, 2025: The Middle East’s prominence on the global motorsport stage has been underlined for another year with confirmation of the FIA’s major world championship calendars for 2026.

The Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place on Jeddah’s street circuit on 17-19 April next year in a 24-race championship which will see the next generation of F1 cars running on 100% sustainable fuels.

This was confirmed at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Macau yesterday which was chaired by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem as the Federation’s global community gathered for the FIA’s annual conference.

The 2026 FI World Championship again includes three other Middle East rounds, in Bahrain on 10-12 April, Qatar from 27-29 Nov and Abu Dhabi, the traditional final Grand Prix of the season from 4-6 December.

Saudi again stages back-to-back Jeddah races in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship calendar on 13-14 February, while the Middle East also has four rounds in the 2026 F2 Championship coinciding with the F1 races in Bahrain, Saudi, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Once again, the Dakar Rally in Saudi commences next year’s FIA World Rally-Raid Championship from 3-17 Jan, with the Rally du Maroc taking place from 28 Sept-3 October and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on 22-27 Nov. Bahrain represents the Middle East in the ten-round F3 calendar.

FIA President Ben Sulayem told World Motor Sport Council members: “2025 is proving to be an exciting year across all our championships with technological milestones being reached, new talent emerging, and battles being fought on the track and across stages each week.”  

“This year is a powerful opportunity for us to innovate and grow. New agreements across our championships are unlocking fresh potential, we are enhancing the level of competition and expanding our global reach. Each race across our championships shows the passion and dedication of our community.”

The World Council approved one of the final pieces of the compelling puzzle that is coming together to mark the start of a brand-new era for the FIA World Rally Championship from 2027.

The WRC27 ruleset has been undergoing its final refinements and updates over the past six months, and confirmation in Macau of the reference volumes for bodywork cements the commitment set out by the FIA to put flexibility at the core of these regulations.

To achieve this, the rules define a zone in which all of the bodywork panels must be located, but within this volume, manufacturers and constructors have the freedom to scale and integrate almost any design.

This means that, without effecting performance, cars ranging from saloons to hatchbacks, cross-overs and completely bespoke designs could be entered over the ten-year regulation cycle through to 2037.