Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs to be cancelled amid Middle East war

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, scheduled for next month, will be canceled due to the war in the Middle East.

An official decision on canceling the races has not yet been made, but it is expected to be made before the end of the weekend.

The cargo should start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran ending, holding the races would put staff at enormous risk.

With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia paying two of the highest hospitality fees, no events will be moved as the season is reduced to 22 races and F1 suffers trading losses of more than £100 million.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to take place the following weekend with Jeddah on 12 April.

The events were planned to be held in Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy and Istanbul Park in Türkiye.

However, it was acknowledged that the time it took to hold a race at any of these locations was very short and there was little chance of receiving a hospitality fee.

The decision will mean a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May.