Bahrain and Saudi canceled

Formula 1 just lost two straight race weekends in the same month: Bahrain on April 12 and Saudi Arabia on April 19 are both off, so the series goes dark until Miami on May 3. (formula1.com) (fia.com 1) (fia.com 2) That leaves roughly five weeks between the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on March 29 and the Miami Grand Prix weekend on May 1-3, which is a huge hole in a season that was originally built around 24 rounds. (fia.com) (formula1.com) The official reason is “the ongoing situation in the Middle East region,” and Formula 1 said it considered alternatives before deciding not to replace either April event. (formula1.com) (fia.com) The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, which is the sport’s governing body, lists both races as “Called Off” on the 2026 world championship calendar, so this is not a one-week delay where teams simply stay nearby and try again. (fia.com) Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were placed in April in the first place because Ramadan falls across February and March in 2026, so the calendar had already been shifted once before the cancellations happened. (fia.com) (formula1.com) That matters because Bahrain is usually one of the cleanest early-season measuring sticks on the calendar: teams know the Sakhir circuit well, the weather is predictable, and the weekend often helps sort out which new car concepts actually work. (formula1.com) Now that checkpoint disappears, so teams go from Japan straight into a long factory stretch before flying to Florida, where the Miami International Autodrome is a very different test from Bahrain’s desert layout. (fia.com) (formula1.com) The cancellations also hit the support ladder, because Formula 2, Formula 3, and the all-female F1 Academy series were all scheduled to race on those weekends and now lose those April rounds too. (formula1.com) So the 2026 season effectively shrinks from 24 races to 22 unless Formula 1 finds new dates later, and neither Formula 1 nor the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile has announced replacement weekends so far. (formula1.com 1) (formula1.com 2) (fia.com) For fans, the practical change is simple: there is no Bahrain practice, no Bahrain qualifying, no Jeddah race week after that, and the next Formula 1 lights-out is scheduled for Miami on Sunday, May 3, 2026. (fia.com)