F1 poised to annul Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races due to Iran conflict – sources
Formula 1 is poised to cancel the races scheduled for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, sources have informed ESPN.
The races were planned for April 12 in Bahrain and April 19 in Saudi Arabia.
Both nations have been affected during Iran’s retaliation following a series of attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
Although there is no certainty that the conflict will still be active when the event dates arrive, a prompt decision was necessary due to the logistics of when teams must begin transporting equipment to the Middle East for both races.
It is improbable that the races in the Middle East will be substituted, considering the tightly packed schedule towards the end of the year.
With no assurance of when the conflict will conclude or if there will be further escalations, F1 aims to avoid a scenario where a championship outcome is affected by a race cancellation late in the season.
This would result in the 2026 calendar being reduced from 24 to 22 races, creating a five-week gap between the third round of the new season in Japan on March 29 and the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
Speaking in Shanghai on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton expressed his support for F1 to make the appropriate choice.
He stated: “I know that [F1 CEO] Stefano [Domenicali] will do what is right for all of us and the sport.
“That is the great thing with having a great leader like him.”
PA contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com
