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<\/p>\nThe FIA said the two races \u201cwill not take place in April\u201d and that no replacements would be organized.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe 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,\u201d FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said.<\/p>\n
The FIA didn\u2019t explicitly rule out rescheduling the races, and Ben Sulayem said: \u201cBahrain and Saudi Arabia are incredibly important to the ecosystem of our racing season, and I look forward to returning to both as soon as circumstances allow.\u201d <\/p>\n
F1\u2019s packed schedule doesn\u2019t have any obvious open dates for rescheduled races this year.<\/p>\n
Calling off the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races means there will be a five-week gap from the Japanese Grand Prix<\/a> on March 29 and the next race, the Miami Grand Prix on May 3. Without any rescheduling, the 22-race schedule would be the shortest since 2023.<\/p>\n The two Middle East races weren\u2019t until next month but F1 faced making a decision earlier because it typically flies in the first staff and cargo to tracks weeks in advance. F1 was also faced with the difficulty of selling tickets at short notice, which make it almost impossible to set up a replacement race in other countries. <\/p>\n Kimi Antonelli, the Mercedes driver who qualified on pole position for Sunday\u2019s race in Shanghai, said his thoughts were \u201cwith the ones that are suffering from this situation\u201d and that safety needed to be the priority, adding of the FIA and F1: \u201cI\u2019m sure they will do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The schedule is a joint matter for the FIA and for F1\u2019s commercial rights holder and teams had signaled a willingness to follow their lead.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we follow the guidance of the FIA and Formula 1, as we always do. They\u2019ve always led us in the right direction,\u201d Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley said Friday. \u201cNobody\u2019s going to compromise on anything that would put teams into an uncomfortable situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Bahrain had already hosted two preseason F1 tests this season before Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran. A smaller-scale test of wet-weather tires was called off in the immediate aftermath of those strikes.<\/p>\n A travel shutdown affecting major airports in the Middle East also caused disruption for Europe-based F1 and team staff heading to Melbourne for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n The last time a scheduled F1 race was canceled was in 2023, when the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in northern Italy was called off at short notice<\/a> due to deadly floods in the area.<\/p>\n