F1 monitoring Middle East situation ahead of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

Sat, 28 Feb, 2026 - 13:03

By Philip Duncan, Press Association F1 Correspondent

Formula One has said it is “closely monitoring” the situation in the Middle East ahead of upcoming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Missile strikes continue to rock the region after United States and Israeli forces attacked Iran with several countries closing their airspace.

A number of F1’s vast travelling circus were scheduled to head to Australia for next weekend’s opening race via the Middle East, with some now having to reroute their flights.

British driver Lando Norris is due to open his title defence in Australia a week on Sunday (Bradley Collyer/PA)

It is understood F1 chiefs are confident the season-opener in Melbourne a week on Sunday will be unaffected.

However, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are due to host the fourth and fifth rounds of the new campaign on April 12th and April 19th respectively.

And an F1 spokesperson said: “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.

Only 5 more sleeps and we've made it 🛌 #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/QYMou8Cc4a

— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) February 27, 2026

“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”

Last summer, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitted the sport had a contingency plan in place for the final two rounds of the season – in Qatar on November 30th and in Abu Dhabi a week later – amid political tensions in the Middle East.

Both races went ahead as planned.