F1 calendar pause announced
- The 2026 F1 season faces an unexpected five-week pause after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races were cancelled. (espn.com) - ESPN reports the cancellations are linked to regional security concerns tied to the war in Iran. (espn.com) - The next scheduled race is now Miami in early May as organizers rework the opening-season timetable. (espn.com)
Formula 1’s 2026 season has gone dark for five weeks after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were dropped from the April schedule, leaving Miami as the next race on May 3. (espn.com) Formula 1 said in March that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix “will not take place in April” after “careful evaluations” tied to “the ongoing situation in the Middle East region.” The governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, said the decision was made with promoters and no replacement races would be added in April. (formula1.com) (fia.com) That leaves a gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 27-29 and the Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3. Formula 1’s official 2026 race page now lists Miami as the “Next Race.” (formula1.com 1) (formula1.com 2) The break is unusual because Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were originally part of a 24-race calendar announced in June 2025. That schedule had Bahrain set for April 10-12 and Saudi Arabia for April 17-19, after both races were moved out of March because Ramadan falls in February and March in 2026. (fia.com) (formula1.com) The pause lands three races into a season already shaped by new technical regulations and new fuel rules. Formula 1 said the 2026 championship opened “an all-new era” with redesigned cars and advanced sustainable fuels, making the long early-season stop more conspicuous than a normal spring gap. (espn.com) (formula1.com) Formula 1 has framed the change as a safety and logistics decision, not a competitive one. Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1’s president and chief executive, said in March that cancelling the races was “the right one at this stage” given conditions in the region. (formula1.com) The cancellation also hit the support series that usually travel with Formula 1 in the Gulf. Formula 1 said the scheduled April rounds for Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy would also not take place on those weekends. (formula1.com) Teams are not in a formal summer-style shutdown during the April gap. Formula 1 said factories can keep working, with crews using the stretch for simulator work, car development and preparation for the sprint weekend in Miami. (formula1.com 1) (formula1.com 2) For now, the championship has been cut from 24 races to 22, and the first race after Japan is set for Sunday, May 3, at the Miami International Autodrome. (skysports.com) (formula1.com)
