The 2026 F1 season has barely begun, yet the championship already faces a major crisis.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prixes, scheduled for April, now stand in serious doubt because of an escalating conflict across the Middle East.
If both races are cancelled, the championship could face a rare month without a race between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
The situation developed as teams gathered in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. Travel disruptions, airspace closures, and safety concerns quickly became the main topic inside the paddock.
Officials from the FIA and Formula One Management are monitoring events closely as they consider whether the races can go ahead.
At the centre of the issue lies safety. With missile strikes across the region and several countries closing their airspace, the logistics of staging two back-to-back races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have become uncertain.
The conflict that changed everything
The crisis began after a US-led military exercise with Israel triggered a wider conflict. Iran retaliated, and the fighting spread across parts of the Gulf region, including Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain.
Large areas of Middle Eastern airspace soon became no-fly zones because of missile activity. Those restrictions immediately affected the F1 paddock.
Several team members struggled to reach Melbourne in time for the opening race. Flights were delayed or cancelled, forcing some staff to take long and complicated routes.
Personnel from McLaren and Mercedes who were supposed to be part of a Pirelli wet-tyre test in Bahrain faced a particularly difficult trip. They first drove from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, then flew to the United Kingdom through Egypt. From there, charter flights departed from Stansted to reach Melbourne while avoiding closed airspace.
At least one staff member even travelled through Tanzania, according to Motorsport.com. The journey showed how deeply the conflict had already disrupted the sport before the season truly began.
Two F1 grands prix under threat
The Bahrain Grand Prix is set for April 12 at the Sakhir circuit. The championship then plans to move to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia a week later.
Both events now face an uncertain future. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said that “safety and well-being” will guide the final decision.
According to reports, insurance may prove the biggest obstacle. The UK’s Foreign Office currently advises its citizens not to travel to the Gulf region. Because most F1 teams operate from the UK, insurers would likely refuse coverage while that advisory remains in place.
Time is also tight. Teams must ship their equipment to Bahrain soon after the Japanese Grand Prix if the race is to proceed. That means F1 officials will likely need to decide within the next two weeks.
Behind the scenes, organisers have started to explore backup plans. Reports suggest the Bahrain race now appears very unlikely to happen. Some discussions have also considered moving the Saudi Arabian race to a later slot between Miami and Montreal, though that option would still face logistical problems if the conflict continues.
Many inside the paddock believe both races could disappear from the calendar unless tensions ease quickly.
Why replacements are unlikely
Even if the two events fall off the schedule, F1 may simply have to leave the gap empty. The calendar already contains 22 races and leaves little room to move events later in the year.
Creating a new grand prix within a few weeks would also be extremely difficult. Organisers would need time to sell tickets, build VIP hospitality areas, and prepare the large motorhomes used by teams and sponsors.
Transport adds another problem. Teams would have to retrieve equipment from storage and move it across Europe at short notice.
Several ideas have surfaced, but none have gained strong support. One proposal suggested staging a race at Imola in Italy. Another considered Portimao in Portugal. A third option looked at adding a second race weekend in Japan after Suzuka.
The Japanese idea faded quickly. Mechanics and engineers would already have spent weeks travelling since the Australian Grand Prix, and another week away from home was considered too demanding.
Some reports inside the paddock say hotels near Imola were booked for the April 11-12 weekend, the slot originally set for Bahrain. Still, the appetite for a last-minute replacement remains weak.
The wider motorsport picture
The disruption has spread beyond F1. The World Endurance Championship recently postponed its season-opening race at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar because of the same regional conflict.
That series moved quickly to delay the event. But F1 faces a tougher challenge because its calendar is tightly packed and designed months in advance.
A modern F1 season runs on strict logistics, with freight ships, cargo planes, and thousands of staff moving between continents on fixed schedules. When geopolitics interrupts that chain, the system has little flexibility.
For now, the championship continues its opening round in Melbourne. Yet the quiet conversations in the paddock already focus on what happens after Japan.
If the conflict does not ease soon, April may pass without a single F1 race, an unusual pause in a season built to run almost without stopping.
