- Peter Malinauskas pitched F1 to return to Adelaide in April.
- F1 refused to replace the cancelled Saudi Arabia and Bahrain GPs.
- FIA President prioritises safety but hopes to return when things cool.
F1 is officially on a break this month of April as the races scheduled were cancelled due to the war between the US-Israel and Iran continues to escalate and impact the Middle East region.
However, there could have been a race this month if the sport had considered replacing these two races. More so, it also received an official offer from Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, who pitched to make F1 return to the Adelaide Street Circuit.
It conducted its first F1 race in 1985. However, its rights to host were then transferred to Albert Park, with the circuit holding its final race in 1995. Earlier, there were also speculations that some circuits, like Imola, Portimao, and Paul Ricard, could be considered for replacing the two races.
Moreover, a double header at Suzuka was also being explored as a potential option. However, an official statement from F1 debunked all the rumours, officially announcing that Bahrain and Saudi GP won’t be replaced.
F1 turned down Malinauskas’s offer to replace the cancelled races
In a conversation with Triple M, Malinauskas revealed that as soon as he got to know that the Bahrain and Saudi GP could be cancelled because of the war, he reached out to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Looking at it as an opportunity, he pitched the CEO to make the sport return to Adelaide Street Circuit. He said at the time that he could make the return work, with his team taking care of the numbers and timelines.
However, at the time, the sport asked him to “‘Look, leave it with us,” because they weren’t looking for potentially replacing the cancelled races.
Sharing on why he didn’t reveal this news earlier in public, he added, “You’ve got to be in it to win it, but I wasn’t putting it out there publicly because it was an initial reach-out. I rang them directly. I just happened to land at a time he was with [Eddie McGuire].”
With the cancellation of the two races, the calendar has officially shrunk to 22 races, with three already completed.
FIA President’s thoughts on race cancellation
The conflict began on February 28 when the US and Israel conducted joint military strikes in Iran, which also resulted in Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination.
In a retaliatory action, Iran began to target the US bases located across the Middle East. Initially, the FIA waited to see if things would cool down before announcing the cancellation. However, when tensions escalated, they were forced to drop the races, with Mohammed Ben Sulayem making the official announcement.
“The FIA will always place the safety and well-being of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind.
“We continue to hope for calm, safety and a swift return to stability in the region, and my thoughts remain with all those affected by these recent events,” he said.
He further stated that both the races are equally “important to the ecosystem” and they look forward to returning to them when things get better.
