FORMULA 1 F1 CALENDAR 2026 LEWIS HAMILTON MOTOGP RUMOURS

Unrest in the Middle East: Are the Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at risk?

14:03, 28 Feb

Updated: 14:54, 28 Feb

byLudo van Denderen

The United States and Israel's attack on Iran (and the latter's response) do not, for now, give Formula 1 cause for concern about the fast-approaching Grands Prix of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia going ahead. The unrest may, however, lead to some inconvenience.

The United States and Israel have announced that the military strike on, among other things, nuclear targets in Iran will last 'a few days'.

Although a missile from Iran has landed in Bahrain, there is, as yet, no reason to cancel the Grand Prix in the Gulf state.

The FOM's statement reads: "Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan, not in the Middle East - those races are not for a number of weeks.

"As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities."

Should the situation at any point become such that the safety of the teams and the public is at risk, measures can still be taken. That is not the case at this time.

Disruption en route to Australia?

That said, some inconvenience could arise in the coming days. Formula 1 kicks off the new season in Australia, with many typically travelling via Abu Dhabi en route from Europe to Melbourne.

There may come a time when it is too dangerous to keep the airspace over the United Arab Emirates open. In Bahrain, for example, the airspace has already been closed today.

Teams whose staff were due to fly to the season opener via the Middle East may already be busy rebooking flights as a precaution.