Domenicali on a ‘very fascinating’ championship, the impact of Antonelli and future plans for F1

Stefano Domenicali is looking to the second half of the 2026 season with “a lot of positivity”, the President and CEO of Formula 1 having reflected on the “phenomenal” evolution during the first half, as well as sharing updates on the calendar, regulations talks and other future plans for the sport.

Following an action-packed opening 11 rounds of the championship – in a season that has witnessed the introduction of sweeping new technical regulations – Kimi Antonelli leads the standings amid an increasingly competitive field, with a different name appearing on the top step of the podium at each of the last five rounds.

In the days after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Domenicali sat down with members of the media to give his take on the campaign so far and what lies ahead…

More to come in a ‘very fascinating’ championship

With Formula 1’s fanbase continuing to grow – and record numbers attending races – Domenicali believes that the sport is currently in a “really great” place.

“The championship is becoming very, very fascinating,” he explained. “There is a lot of action on the track. People are loving it.”

Looking back at how the season has developed from the opener in Australia – the maiden event under the 2026 regulations – Domenicali continued: “The evolution from the first race is just phenomenal.

“It’s showing how much F1 is able to react to any kind of technical challenge or opportunity, because I remember very well at the beginning of the year, some were saying, ‘The championship is already finished, we’ll have a Mercedes dominating the season, it's game over’.

“Actually, it's not the truth – there are still a lot of things that will happen up to the end of the year. There will be more teams that will be able to fight for the win. There will be more drivers where it will be possible for them to be the winner.

“Therefore, all the elements on that side will be very, very fascinating, and I think that everyone will stay focused and tuned in up to the end of the championship.”

In terms of the races coming up, Domenicali believes that the Dutch Grand Prix will be a “moment to celebrate” as Zandvoort marks its final event on the calendar, while he is also expecting an “incredible event” at Monza as Antonelli prepares for his first home weekend since becoming a race winner. Madrid then hosts its inaugural event just one week later.

“In a nutshell, we are looking forward to the second half of the season with a lot of positivity,” the Italian summarised.

Update on calendar changes and regulations

Domenicali went on to reiterate his happiness over the recent announcement that Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit will host the Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of October 2-4.

“Together, we have found a new way of hosting the Grand Prix in Malaysia,” he said. “It's a sign of cooperation, it's the sign of thinking wider than what other people believe. And I need to thank the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Grands Prix, the Kingdom of Malaysia, to understand that there was a possibility to bring back a track that has been part of our championship in the past.”

Looking ahead at the remainder of the calendar, Domenicali also shared details on the timeline for making any further decisions.

“With regards to the end of the season, we are in touch with all the other championships,” he continued. “The way that we are structured is that we will take the maximum time for us to see how the situation will develop, and we will take the decision at the right time.

“That moment will be not be before the middle of September. For us today, the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are confirmed.

“But of course, if the situation will not be cleared the way that we believe it should be, before the middle of September, we will take the decision. And in that respect, I just want confirm to you that if this will not be possible, that the end of the season would be in Europe.”

As the season continues to progress, Domenicali says that Formula 1 will continue to take on board feedback when it comes to the regulations.

“The effect on the track has been widely super positive,” he explained. “It is true that it's the nature of a sport to talk and listen to the input of all the drivers and teams and the manufacturers.

“I think that what has been decided in terms of evolution and regulation is the right thing for the sport, and it's good that there is the opportunity for the FIA to listen to the comments of the manufacturers and the drivers.”

And looking ahead to the development of the technical regulations for the future, Domenicali said that there are “a lot of good talks going ahead now”, adding: “I think that for the drivers that have already driven the changes of next year on the simulator, it is going in the right direction.”

‘Incredible asset’ Antonelli and thoughts on Verstappen’s future

In terms of the on-track action so far this season, a key storyline has been the success of Antonelli, the teenager becoming the youngest-ever driver to lead the championship after notching up six Grand Prix victories so far.

Domenicali believes that the Mercedes racer is “really great” for the sport, saying of his fellow Italian: “He's fresh, he is still very new and very open to any kind of things that are happening to him.

“He has brought a lot of new fans connected to him, because the nature of his way of engaging is fantastic. On the sport side, he has proven to be very strong. Don’t forget that, without the two DNFs related to problems on the car, the championship for him would be an even a bigger gap. He’s proven to be very solid.

“And as you can imagine for the Italian fans, it's even more important. The last Italian driver that won something important was many, many, many years ago. Therefore, he's added a new dimension.

“The relationship today with the other drivers is fantastic. The relationship may be different, of course, if we start winning the championship, but that's the nature of our sport. But as I said, I can only be very happy with the way that he's engaged with our sport.

“I've known him for many, many years, and he's an incredible asset for the future and what we're doing together.”

Should Antonelli win the championship this season, the youngster would join the likes of Max Verstappen in having a title to his name – and while the Dutchman is not experiencing the smoothest season so far in 2026, Domenicali is hopeful that he will continue on in the sport amid recent speculation over his future.

“Max is an incredible driver,” he explained. “He loves Formula 1. I have an incredible relationship with him.

“My opinion is that Max will stay with us, and I really hope so.”

The future beyond 2027

While there is plenty in the pipeline for the rest of 2026, Domenicali also shared an insight into plans going beyond this season.

In terms of the schedule for 2027, the Italian stated: “So far, the calendar that will be presented, let's say in autumn, it would be as a sort of normal plan. But of course, in the case that the situation in the Middle East would be not solved, we have options.

“But the trigger for that is at the end of the year, so we have still a lot of time to adjust. We have different plans with different options ready in place that will accommodate the fact that we will keep, in any case, the target of 24 Grands Prix for next year.”

Domenicali acknowledged that F1 is getting “bigger and bigger” and added that the sport is still receiving “a lot of requests to host Grands Prix all around the world”, with Portugal and Türkiye confirmed to return to the calendar in 2027.

The CEO also admitted that there are other exciting plans in store, having been asked about the possibility of a follow-up to the hugely successful F1 The Movie.

“Work in progress,” Domenicali smiled. “You need to make sure that there is the right timing, the right story, but the intention to do that is there. I'll keep you posted if and when there will be some information.”