3 min readUpdated: Mar 15, 2026 09:33 AM IST
The Formula One Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will not take place in April as was previous scheduled, the governing body International Automobile Federation (FIA) has said. The international body also said in its statement that the races won’t be replaced by any other next month.
US and Israeli attacks on Iran are continuing while Iranian drones and missiles have hit Middle Eastern capitals including Bahrain’s Manama, where team personnel would be staying in hotels. Airports in the region have closed, including Manama, with Iran threatening to block the key trade route through the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain is also the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. “It has been confirmed today that, after careful evaluations, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will not take place in April,” said the FIA in its statement.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April.#FIA #F1 pic.twitter.com/gwHHDHkOdy
— FIA (@fia) March 14, 2026
“The FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3 and F1 Academy rounds will also not take place during their scheduled times. The decision has been taken in full consultation with Formula One Group, local promoters and our Member Clubs in the region.”
It is the second time Bahrain has had the race, its biggest sporting event of the year, cancelled. In 2011 it was called off due to civil unrest in the Gulf kingdom. The Jeddah race was ?called into question in 2022 after missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on ?an oil facility near the circuit.
An update from Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1
Following the news that we will not be racing in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia in April#F1 pic.twitter.com/ELoRwxwRpj
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 14, 2026
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
“We respect the decision of the (FIA) and Formula One not to hold the race at its scheduled time,” the Saudi state news agency SPA quoted Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal as saying. “We affirm to the international sporting community that the Kingdom was fully prepared to host this race, which it has previously hosted successfully and with distinction on five occasions.”
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