Formula 1 team bosses say they need to know by the middle of this month whether the series’ final two races will go ahead as planned.

Qatar and Abu Dhabi are due to hold the final two races of the season in November and December. However the war in Iran, which forced the cancellation of races in nearby Bahrain and Saudi Arabia six months ago, put those plans in jeopardy.

F1 has a back-up plan to hold an alternative event at Imola. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali previously said a decision would be made by mid-September. Teams say they need to know one way or the other soon.

“I believe Stefano was targeting to tell us in mid-October,” said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu in Azerbaijan. “So, we all know what the situation is.

“I believe that Imola is getting ready in case we have to do it. I think the challenges are, for instance, things like European motorhome structure, etcetera. All those people who look after them, they have a winter job, so we need to find alternative people to do that.

“But I’m sure we all, as a family, community, will make sure if we have to do that, that will happen. But hopefully, as a baseline, we can go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi. That would be really good.”

Drivers have pointed out the conditions could be very cold if the series races in Imola in December. However Audi team principal Mattia Binotto believes it would be no cooler than some other venues the series visits.

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“The main challenges are more organisation and logistics,” he said. “I would think, from a technical point, often we may say wintertime and snow tyres, but at the end, as a matter of fact, the average temperature in Imola in that time of the year is hotter than Las Vegas.

“So I don’t think that’s a true concern. It’s more from the organisation and the logistics, really. And again, mid-October, hopefully we may do the right decision.”

Domenicali told the Financial Times the “decision is done” but also admitted “Imola is the place that eventually, in case of a force majeure before a certain date, would be ready to host it.”

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