Pirelli cancelled its two-day wet weather test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, following nearby missile strikes on Saturday morning.
The strikes followed an escalation in the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, with a joint attack by the former on the latter earlier Saturday morning. Iran responded with attempted missile attacks on Middle East-based US military bases.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet is based in Manama, Bahrain, due to its proximity to the Bahrain circuit in Sakhir, F1 and Pirelli are working to get all personnel safely sheltered and then away from the threat.
Pirelli confirmed to the media, including RacingNews365, the cancellation of the test and the safety of all personnel.
“The two days of development tests for wet-weather compounds, scheduled for today and tomorrow at the Bahrain International Circuit, have been cancelled for security reasons following the evolving international situation.”
Mercedes and McLaren had mule cars left behind at Bahrain for the wet tire test. Frederik Vesti, Mercedes test driver, was among the drivers in Bahrain for the Pirelli wet weather test.
“All Pirelli personnel currently in Manama are safe in their hotels. The company is working to ensure their safety and arrange their return to Italy and the UK as soon as possible.”
For both teams in and out of the Middle East, this new escalation will create travel issues for teams as they navigate from their European bases to Australia to start the season next week.
There have been attempted Iranian missile strikes in multiple Middle Eastern countries that host grands prix, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
Bahrain has often been the season opener between 2006 and 2024, but it moved back to the fourth round last year and will remain on the same early April weekend for 2026 as well. With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia more than a month away, F1 is closely monitoring the global conflict but will not move the grand prix dates amidst a rapidly changing climate.
The Bahrain Grand Prix is still set for April 12th and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for April 19th.
With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2026 season, the FIA is monitoring the situation but has not yet moved dates or called for a cancellation. An F1 spokesperson shared with the media, including PlanetF1.com’s Mat Coch.
“Our next three races are in Australia, China, and Japan, and not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks,” the statement read.
“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”
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Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports writer who spends her time hopping between race tracks and hippie farms. She’s covered every corner of motorsports that will let her in from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross. Her daily driver is a 2010 Subaru that she refused to do the smallest amount of preventative maintenance on. Instead, she spends her free time and money building a 42-foot Skoolie to one day travel the country full time.