Next month’s Bahrain and Saudi Formula 1 Grands Prix will be canceled this weekend due to conflict in the Middle East. Multiple sources told Reuters the announcement, seen within the sport as only a matter of time, was expected by Monday at the latest with a March 20 deadline for the cargo, which must be flown to Bahrain for logistical reasons.
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Sky Sports, which has broadcasting rights in Britain, where most of the 11 teams are based, said it understood the races would be called off on Sunday night. US and Israeli attacks on Iran continue, while Iranian drones and missiles have hit some major cities in the Middle East, including Manama, Bahrain, where most of the team’s staff would be staying in hotels.
Formula 1 races in China this weekend for the second round of the season after the opening race in Australia last weekend.
Sources had previously indicated that no race in the Middle East was likely to be replaced or rescheduled, leaving April as a blank month for the series and reducing the championship to 22 rounds.
Bahrain was scheduled for April 12 with Saudi Arabia’s race in Jeddah on April 19. The Japanese Grand Prix, round three, takes place on March 29 with the next race in Miami on May 3.
“I think we are following the FIA and Formula 1 guidelines, as always. They have always guided us in the right direction,” Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley told reporters after practice at the Shanghai circuit.
“No one will compromise on anything that puts the teams in an uncomfortable situation.”
Liberty Media-owned Formula 1 and governing body Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) had no immediate comment.
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) has already postponed the season opener in Qatar to March 26-28, with the first race now scheduled for April 19 in Imola, Italy.
The Qatar round at the Lusail circuit outside Doha, which also hosts Formula 1 in November, has been postponed to 24 October as the penultimate round before the final in Bahrain on 7 November.
MotoGP is due to race in Qatar on April 12, with that round also likely to be cancelled.
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Published on:
14 Mar 2026 08:20 IST
