Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s F1 Grand Prix races will not be held in April due to security reasons due to the war.
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Published March 14, 2026
Formula 1 and its governing body the FIA have announced that grand prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not be held in April due to security concerns related to the Iran war.
After the United States and Israel launched a series of attacks against Iran, both countries have fallen victim to Iranian retaliatory attacks.
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The announcement was made in Shanghai early Sunday morning ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
F1 announced: “Due to the continuing situation in the Middle East, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs will not be held in April.” “Several alternatives were considered, but ultimately it was decided in April that no alternatives would take place.”
F1 races were scheduled for April 12th in Bahrain and April 19th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“This was a difficult decision, but unfortunately given the current situation in the Middle East, it was the right one at this stage,” F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said.
“The FIA always puts the safety and well-being of our communities and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind,” said FIA President Mohamed Ben Sulayem.
The FIA has not explicitly ruled out rescheduling the race and, like F1, did not use the words “cancelled” or “postponed” when announcing that the series would not be held in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia next month.
“Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are extremely important to our race season ecosystem and we look forward to returning to both as soon as conditions allow,” said Ben Sulayem.
Race organizers in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia said they supported the decision.
With F1’s congested schedule, there are no clear open dates for this year’s rescheduled races.
The cancellation of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will leave a five-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29th and the next race, the Miami Grand Prix, on May 3rd. Barring any changes, the 22-race schedule will be the shortest since 2023.
The two Middle East races were not due to take place until next month, but F1 was forced to make an earlier decision as it typically gets its first staff and luggage onto the tracks weeks in advance. F1 is also facing difficulties selling tickets on short notice, making it nearly impossible to set up alternative races in other countries.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who took pole position for Sunday’s race in Shanghai, said his thoughts were “with those who are suffering from this situation” and said safety must be the priority.
“I’m sure they will do the right thing,” he said of the FIA and F1.
The schedule is a joint matter between the FIA and F1’s commercial rights holders, and teams have indicated they intend to follow that lead.
Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley said on Friday: “I think we are following the guidance of the FIA and F1 as always. They have always guided us in the right direction.” “No one is willing to compromise on anything that would put the team in an uncomfortable situation.”
Bahrain had already hosted two pre-season F1 tests this season before Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran. A small test of wet-weather tires was canceled immediately after the strike.
The travel suspensions, which affected major airports in the Middle East, also caused disruption for European-based F1 and team staff heading to Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The last time a scheduled F1 race was canceled was in 2023, when the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in northern Italy was called off at short notice due to deadly flooding in the area.
In 2022, F1 continued with a race weekend in Saudi Arabia after Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot during a practice session and black smoke was visible from the Jeddah circuit.
In the same year, F1 canceled its contract for the Russian Grand Prix following Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
