Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix's to be cancelled

The F1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are set to be cancelled next month following the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with an official decision coming in the next few days.

The F1 races that were set for mid April are set to be cancelled by the end of the weekend. (Image - F1)

Although a formal decision about these races being cancelled hasn’t been reached yet, there is set to be one made by the end of the weekend.

The final decision will be made by the FIA, the governing body for motorsport.

The Bahrain GP was set to be held on the 12th April and the Saudi Arabia GP the week after on the 19th.

As the races are so close, personnel and freight would need to start heading to the circuits for preparation, however this currently isn’t possible due to the current dangers in the Middle East, and no sign of either the US or Iran backing down.

The 24 race calendar will now be cut to 22 races as there isn’t enough time to move them to different circuits. Portimão in Portugal, Imola in Italy and Istanbul Park in Turkey were amongst considerations to replace the two Grand Prix.

F1 is taking a huge commercial hit of more than £100m due to the cancellations because Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees of the season.

The decision will mean a 5 week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on the 29th March and the Miami Grand Prix on the 3rd May.