Valtteri Bottas has a left-field reason for having the championship finale in Abu Dhabi compared to Imola

By Pranay

October 1, 2026 2 Min Read

Valtteri Bottas was questioned about the possibility of the 2026 F1 finale taking place in Imola instead of Abu Dhabi. The Finnish driver went on to detail the tax reason for wanting the championship finale in Abu Dhabi instead of Imola.

Amid the ongoing situation in the Middle East, questions loom over the F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were cancelled earlier this year, with the Bahrain GP now taking place in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit.

Amid the questions over the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Imola has emerged as a possible replacement to host the final race of the season. However, when Valtteri Bottas was asked about his preference, he chose Abu Dhabi over Imola, citing the Italian taxation and the weather as his reasons.

The Cadillac drivers explained how no driver wants to race in Italy given the taxation, as he said,

“Not a big fan because, yeah, I’ve heard about the weather normally around that time of the year. The fog in the mornings, the early early sunset temperature. And, also, I don’t know if you’ve heard about the Italian tax? No driver wants to really race in Italy because of recent events, what happened.”

However, he added that he’d go to Imola if that’s what F1 decides. He said,

“I think if F1 goes, then yes. I don’t think Formula 1 would take the risk for all the people here. And so, yeah, if it’s a go, then that’s okay.”

“Well, yeah, Abu Dhabi, there’s no tax. Right? I think everyone would like to race somewhere warmer. But for now, what I’ve heard, we’re still going to Qatar in Abu Dhabi,” he added

Valtteri Bottas explains reason for poor Azerbaijan GP performance

The Finnish driver had a disastrous weekend in Azerbaijan, being multiple seconds off the pace of his teammate Sergio Perez, before crashing into the barrier on the last lap. However, much of the pace deficit was due to Checo getting the upgraded Ferrari power unit.

Explaining the Azerbaijan GP woes, Bottas said,

“I understand it looked pretty bad from the outside; I felt pretty bad in the car as well. There was just no way to keep up with the pack.”

“I tried everything during the race. Got lots of feedback on where I am losing time. A lot of it was on the straights. But also a big chunk was just all around the lap in the corners. That’s why I just kept pushing until the end. And that’s why I had the lock-up on the last lap in Turn 1,” he added

Bottas was 6-7km/h slower than Perez on the straight because of the upgraded power unit in the back of Checo’s Cadillac.