![[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] April 13, 2025; Sakhir, BAHRAIN; Oscar Piastri leads George Russell into the first corner at the start of the race during the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit.](https://frontofficesportsstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/USATSI_25925940_168416386_lowres-scaled.jpg?quality=80&w=1024)
Formula One is leaning toward cancelling its two upcoming races in the Middle East, instead of rescheduling or moving them, as the region continues to be at risk due to the U.S. and Israel–Iran war.
The Bahrain Grand Prix (April 10-12) and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (April 17-19) are at risk of not being run next month, according to multiple reports coming out of Melbourne, which is hosting this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, F1’s 2026 season-opener. Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were among Persian Gulf states that were the target of retaliatory attacks by Iran.
A decision will be made no later than March 20, sources told Sky Sports.
“First of all, our approach first of all is safety for all of the relevant stakeholders, people and the promoter itself,” F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports on Friday. “We don’t want to do any statement today because things are evolving and we still have time to make the right decision.”
Cancelling the Middle East races—the fourth and fifth on the 2026 schedule—would create a monthlong break for F1, which would be off for all of April after the Japanese Grand Prix March 27-29, before returning to action in the U.S. at the Miami Grand Prix May 1-3.
That would reduce F1’s 2026 slate to 22 races, down from a record-tying 24 races in each of the previous two years. In 2023, F1 had scheduled 24 events, but cancelled the Chinese Grand Prix due to COVID-19 restrictions, and cancelled the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix following deadly floods in Northeastern Italy.
How much money F1 will lose by not conducting the races is unclear, but in 2023 the sport reported a $20 million drop in Q2 revenue, compared to the same period in 2022, as the Emilia-Romagna cancellation meant six races in that time frame, instead of the planned seven.
This is the debut F1 season for Apple TV, which has taken over U.S. media rights from ESPN in a five-year, $700 million deal that’s worth $140 million annually.
In 2025, ESPN averaged 1.3 million viewers per F1 race, up from 1.21 million in 2024.
F1 did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Front Office Sports.
