Formula 1 will lose an estimated £100m after next month’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled due to the war between Iran and the USA and Israel.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East, with locations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia among those targeted by Iranian missiles, means rounds four and five of the 2026 campaign were cancelled on the morning of the Chinese Grand Prix.
In Bahrain specifically, a hotel in the capital of Manama – which usually hosts a load of F1 personnel during the race – was targeted while major airports, serving as international travel hubs, remain closed throughout the region.
Cancelling the grands prix – with Bahrain initially scheduled for 12 April and Saudi Arabia a week later on 19 April – with the sport unlikely to replace the races in 2026 at all, despite European locations considered, but ultimately ignored due to the difficulties and logistics of such a last-minute operation.
As a result, F1 will now almost certainly miss out on some of its most astronomical hosting fees. It is understood Saudi pays the joint-most of any race, alongside Qatar, at approximately £55m ($72m). Bahrain, which hosted the first-ever race in the Middle East in 2004, pays F1 an estimated £45m ($60m) for the right to host a grand prix.
Formula One’s overall revenues would be hit, but given the calendar would still be 22 races, extensive by historical standards, the impact would be kept to a minimum.
Not only are the Middle Eastern races significant financial contributors to F1, but both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have deep ties to the sport; Bahrain owns McLaren, while Saudi Arabia is a prominent sponsor and investor via state-owned oil company Aramco.
A precedent for cancellation without replacement exists: the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was called off due to unrest in the kingdom and was not rescheduled after teams objected to a late October date.
Formula One’s then-commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone later confirmed that Bahrain had paid its hosting fee regardless. Whether the Bahrain and Saudi races will do the same remains to be seen.
The wider motorsport community has also been affected, with MotoGP’s Qatar round at Lusail, near Doha, on 12 April facing significant difficulties and unlikely to be rescheduled.
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) event in Doha, originally set for 26-28 March, has already been postponed and rescheduled for October.
Additional reporting by Reuters
