The conflict that is reshaping the Middle East is now reshaping the Formula 1 calendar, and the sport’s time to pretend otherwise is almost over.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were to host back-to-back Grands Prix in April – Sakhir on the 10th, Jeddah a week later on the 17th. Neither race is taking place. Sky Sports reported on Friday that an official cancellation is expected in Shanghai before the weekend, with no replacement event planned. The 2026 season has been reduced from 24 races to 22, and April is completely blacked out for the first time since 2020.
Context matters. The American and Israeli military attacks on Iran triggered a wave of retaliatory missile attacks across the Gulf. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were all affected. Dubai International Airport was targeted. The Strait of Hormuz – the shipping lane through which F1 freight must pass – is disrupted. Pirelli tire testing at Sakhir was canceled in late February after Iran launched a missile at the US Navy command center just 15 miles from the circuit. That was the writing on the wall.
The conditions of freight traffic made a clear division between the two castes impossible anyway. Everything goes to Bahrain first, then by land to Jeddah. You can’t save one without the other. If he goes to Sakhir, he goes to Jeddah.
Portimao and Imola were briefly considered as replacement options, but neither penciled out given the contradictions elsewhere on the timeline and calendar. The financial blow to F1 is real, and according to reports the cancellation cost more than $100 million in hosting fees alone. Formula 1 runs on those fees. This is not a small thing.
There is a gap of five weeks between Japan on March 27 and Miami on May 3. For fans who have become accustomed to F1 races almost every weekend, this will seem strange. But no one in the yard is debating the call. Toto Wolff said clearly in Melbourne: Formula 1 becomes a second priority when safety is a question. It’s hard to disagree with this.
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