Formula One is poised to cancel races scheduled for next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The sport has not yet formally confirmed the grands prix will be scrapped but it is expected to announce their cancellation as soon as this weekend before the meeting in Shanghai is over.
The races were due to take place on 12 April in Bahrain and 19 April in Saudi Arabia but the sport is rapidly approaching the point at which a decision on cancellation needs to be made to prevent more freight being sent to Bahrain. The Sakhir circuit is only 20 miles (32km) from a US base that has already been the target of Iranian attacks. Some team freight is already stuck in Bahrain, having been unable to move since testing, and understandably there is no appetite for having more equipment dispatched only to become unretrievable.
If both races are cancelled, they are unlikely to be replaced given the difficulties in finding and then logistically supplying short-notice venues. The season would instead run to 22 meetings, with a gap of five weeks between the third round in Japan on 29 March and what would then be the fourth round in Miami on 3 May during which teams would seek to make further car improvements as they adapt to the sport’s new regulations.
On Friday, George Russell laid down a further marker as the man to beat in the new season with a dominant run in qualifying to claim pole for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix. He sealed another front-row lockout alongside his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, with Russell finishing more than half a second clear of their nearest rival. The first sprint weekend under the new regulations is a journey into the unknown for teams and drivers.
