Australian Grand Prix: Formula 1 season-opener to feel ‘no impact’ of travel chaos

Australian Grand Prix organizers say they are “really confident” that travel chaos caused by ongoing conflict in the Middle East will not affect the opening race of the Formula One season this weekend.

It is reported that nearly 1,000 staff have been forced to rearrange their flights, with around 500 of them flying from Europe on charter planes.

This comes after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Saturday, prompting retaliatory strikes across the region.

F1 also said it was “monitoring the situation closely” and that races were planned for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Australian Formula 1 chief Travis Auld said on Monday that “everyone will be ready to race here” as Melbourne prepares to host the 2026 races.

The travel plans of many drivers and other key staff based in Europe have been affected by the major disruption to global air transport, with key routes via Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also affected.

“The last 48 hours have required rescheduling flights,” Auld said.

“That’s very much the responsibility of Formula 1. They take responsibility for the teams, the drivers and all the personnel that are needed here to make this event happen. There are quite a lot of them.”

“From what I understand now everything is locked, everyone will be ready for the race and the fans will not notice any difference.”