Formula 1 cancels Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the impact of the Iran war

The decision to cancel the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races was inevitable once it became clear that there would be no quick end to the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran at the end of February.

The conflict has already disrupted Formula 1 this season, with flights of a large number of staff to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend disrupted when airspace in the Middle East was closed.

It has left teams, Formula 1 and the media scrambling to find alternative routes to Melbourne to replace those many had planned via popular Gulf transport hubs such as Dubai and Doha.

In Australia, it was already clear that the events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were under serious threat unless the conflict was resolved quickly.

This was due to the well-known international shipping and logistics requirements of Formula 1.

With both sites at risk of attack from Iran or its allies, a cancellation announcement seemed inevitable for some time.

The Bahraini capital Manama hosts a US naval base in the Juffair residential area, where many Formula 1 employees stay over the weekend.

Jeddah is tucked away on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, but the Saudi event took a beating in 2022 when Yemen’s Houthi rebels, allies of Iran, launched a missile attack on a nearby oil facility.

Formula 1 has explored the possibility of holding alternative races.

Portimão in Portugal, Imola in Italy and Istanbul in Türkiye were all considered, as was the possibility of holding a second race in Japan.

In the end, it was all abandoned due to a combination of factors – the difficulty of organizing the race on such short notice, including ticket sales, the slim chance of a significant hosting fee, and the impact on already tired Formula 1 staff.

Last year’s tournament ended in early December, and this winter’s offseason was the shortest in the sport’s history as a result of the biggest regulation change ever.

The unplanned gap in the calendar now gives F1 an opportunity to regroup, and also provides additional space to consider amendments to the new rules in the wake of criticism of their impact on the purity of the sport.

The new engines feature a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electric power, and there are concerns within the sport that they have downplayed driver skill in some respects. A series of potential changes are under discussion.

The gap between Japan and Miami will give teams additional time to absorb the lessons of the first three races and work on improving their cars.

It will also have an impact on the rules governing the engine development allowed this season.

These specify the dates by which the relative performance of the power unit will be evaluated, with those falling behind by more than specified amounts of performance given the opportunity for additional development.

Honda, which has had a troubled start to the season, is guaranteed to be allowed to improve its engine, while evidence emerging this weekend in China suggests Red Bull Powertrains’ new engine may have to be given the chance too.