After the season opener at Albert Park, F1 heads to the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend and the Japanese Grand Prix on the final weekend of March. <\/p>\n
But there are major question marks on whether the following two races held in the Middle East will go ahead at all due to the US-Israel strikes on Iran. <\/p>\n
F1 officials are in talks this weekend about possible alternatives to the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 13 and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix scheduled for April 20 due to safety concerns in the region.<\/p>\n
If the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races are cancelled, that would leave a month-long gap in the F1 calendar between the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of March and the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May. <\/p>\n
ESPN<\/a> and Planet.F1<\/a> reports the likely outcome is the two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will be cancelled and will not be replaced by another circuit because of the limited time to prepare for a race at short notice. <\/p>\n That would mean the season would be trimmed to a 22-race calendar with a full month without action in April.<\/p>\n F1 officials are expected to make a decision on whether to cancel or replace the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races in the next few weeks, with a final call to be made by the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29. <\/p>\n The FIA \u2013 motorsport\u2019s global governing body \u2013 has already postponed the opening race of the World Endurance Championship, which was due to be held from March 26-28 in Qatar, due to safety concerns in the region.<\/p>\n If the Middle East F1 races go ahead, key equipment would need to be shipped to Bahrain immediately after the Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s government would be open to hosting a second race in Melbourne, with a source telling the Herald Sun<\/a>: \u201cIf needed, we would absolutely be ready and willing to have a conversation. Ultimately, it\u2019s up to F1, but we already host one, so why not two?\u201d<\/p>\n Another possibility is that a second race at Japan\u2019s iconic Suzuka circuit could be held in that gap, to avoid teams making further travel, although any race organised at short notice may not be able to sell all its tickets. <\/p>\n Other potential replacement circuits that have been floated include Portimao (Portugal), Istanbul (Turkey) or Imola (Italy) given F1 teams can fly directly from Tokyo to Europe after the Japanese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n \u201cOur approach, first of all, is safety for all the relevant stakeholders, the people and also the [race] promoter itself,\u201d F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told Sky Sports on Friday. <\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to do any statement today because, you know, things are so evolving, so changing, that we have still time to make the right decision. And this decision will be taken together. \u201cWe have an open option in place. <\/p>\n \u201cOf course, it\u2019s all connected to the risks that are evolving that we need to manage. All options could be open at the right moment we will make the decision, of course, involving everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: \u201cThere\u2019s been very little communication about it yet because of the effort that it took just to get here to Australia. <\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the sport, ourselves, the fans, the partners, our race team, all that will be of the utmost importance from a safety point of view. We just have to see how things play out, and we\u2019ll make the right decision for the health of everybody involved in the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all kind of depends. Do the races get replaced? Do they get delayed? And the economics around that. \u201cBut I think, given what\u2019s going on, we\u2019re not bothered… if it does have a little bit of a financial impact, so be it, with what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as Qatar Airways, the naming rights sponsor for the Australian Grand Prix, cancelled all corporate hospitality events<\/a> this weekend out of respects for its passengers who remain stranded in the Middle East to the war in Iran. <\/p>\n The airline\u2019s hospitality schedule included a VIP dinner at Marmelo restaurant and access to the F1 Paddock Club, an exclusive track section offering prime viewing access and pit lane visits.<\/p>\n After encountering some issues with his car in the first practice session in Melbourne, Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in the second practice session, setting a lap time of 1:19.729. <\/p>\n That put him ahead of the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, as well as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but the true test will be in Saturday afternoon\u2019s qualifying.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n