The ongoing Middle East war could lead to cancellation of back-to-back Formula 1 Grands Prix scheduled in the month of April at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Peace in the Middle East has collapsed as F1 stands on the cusp of its latest era.
Earlier, last week, a full-scale war broke out between a US-led military exercise with Israel. With the Iranians retaliating, regions like Kuwait, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain have all come under fire.
The situation has escalated immensely, with the airspaces over the Middle East having been declared as a no-fly zone owing to incessant missile strikes.
Amid this, the world of motorsport has also been caught unawares. The World Endurance Championship recently had to postpone its Prologue and season-opening race at the Lusail International Circuit.
With the tensions still unbrokered, it seems that the F1 races scheduled at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are headed towards the same fate.
The Bahrain GP was scheduled to take place on the 12th of April, with the flying F1 circus moving on to Jeddah just a week later.
But instability in the region could force the sport’s hand into cancelling these events on account of safety; which F1 takes very seriously.
Motorsport Week understands that this could mean that there would be absolutely no Grand Prix action during the month of April.
While the FIA and FOM have insisted that they are “working closely with the relevant authorities”, time is the enemy for these races as the biggest hurdle would be logistical in nature in terms of freight transfer even if the war is resolved in the coming days or weeks.
F1’s possible ‘Plan B’ for Bahrain and Saudi Arabian cancellations
The biggest concern for the sport, at least from a commercial side of things, would be the aggregate $100 million it would lose in hosting fees if the race is cancelled for force majeure reasons such as this war.
Naturally, F1 is considering alternate options to keep the 24-race calendar intact, as much as it is possible.
There are also fresh rumours that the Japanese Grand Prix [preceding the race at Bahrain] might host a second race to accommodate for this.
The likes of Portimao and Imola have also come up in conversation.
But it would be up to the commercial wisdoms of the promoters if they would want to risk hosting a race, paying the fees and recoup their investments in ticket sales on such short notice.
READ MORE – Isack Hadjar embraces higher F1 hopes despite disrupted Australian GP build-up
Discussion about this post