---
title: "F1 Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix officially cancelled as Middle East conflict continues"
publishDate: 2026-03-18T13:12:04.494Z
lastUpdated: 2026-03-18T13:22:20.928Z
source_url:
html: https://tarmactimes.com/en/f1/articles/f1-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-officially-cancelled-as-middle-east-conflict-continues/pkrpdn
md: https://tarmactimes.com/en/f1/articles/f1-bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-officially-cancelled-as-middle-east-conflict-continues/pkrpdn/llms.txt
---
Featured image: 
Formula 1 and the FIA announced on 15 March, ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April. The decision is a direct consequence of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where Iranian retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli military action have hit Gulf states including Bahrain.
Both Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir and the Jeddah street circuit in Saudi Arabia have contracts with F1 extending well into the next decade. This is not a termination. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was careful to leave the door open.
– Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are incredibly important to the ecosystem of our racing season, and I look forward to returning to both as soon as circumstances allow.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem echoed that position, framing the decision in straightforward safety terms.
– The FIA will always place the safety and wellbeing of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind.
## What it means for the calendar
The 2026 season drops from 24 rounds to 22. There will be no replacements in April; alternative venues including Imola and Portimao were considered and rejected on logistical and commercial grounds. The result is a five-week gap in the schedule between Japan (March 27–29) and Miami (May 1–3).
Support categories take a hit too. The F2, F3 and F1 Academy rounds planned for those weekends are also gone.
Logistics drove the timing of the announcement. F1 typically ships freight to host circuits weeks in advance, and ongoing airspace disruptions across the Gulf had already forced teams to reroute travel to the season opener in Australia. A freight deadline for Bahrain early next week effectively set a hard deadline for officials to act.
The financial toll is considerable. According to PlanetF1, Bahrain's hosting fee is in the region of $53 million this year, Saudi Arabia's roughly $65 million. Combined, that is over $118 million in promoter income that will not arrive in 2026.
## F1 is not alone
As we [reported in March](https://tarmactimes.com/en/f1/articles/iran-missile-strikes-force-f1-tyre-test-cancellation-and-threaten-april-grands-prix/sxz649), the writing had been on the wall since Iran's strikes forced Pirelli to cancel a wet-weather tyre test at Sakhir earlier this month. The WEC had already moved its Qatar season-opener to October, and MotoGP is working on rescheduling its Doha round. F1 simply took longer to reach the same conclusion, constrained by a fuller calendar and the commercial complexity of two back-to-back race deals.
The Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, both scheduled for late November, remain on the calendar for now.