MARCH 16 — Formula 1 has officially cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, originally scheduled for April 10–12 and April 17–19 respectively. The FIA cited "unforeseen regional circumstances" that made it impossible to safely proceed with either event, cutting the 2026 calendar from 24 races down to 22.
The Official Statement
The FIA's statement was measured but left little room for ambiguity about the seriousness of the decision: "After careful consideration and consultation with all stakeholders, we have made the difficult decision to cancel these events due to unforeseen regional circumstances. The safety of all personnel, teams, and fans remains our utmost priority."
Both races had been fixtures of the calendar in recent seasons, and their simultaneous cancellation — rather than a postponement or relocation — underlines how serious the underlying circumstances are considered to be.
Impact on the 2026 Championship
With two rounds removed, the 2026 season now runs to 22 races instead of 24. The championship standings are unaffected in principle — no points are lost, simply two opportunities to score them — but the removal of two rounds this early in the year does compress the season and removes two data points that could have shifted momentum either way. The next round on the revised calendar becomes the Miami Grand Prix in May.
At the time of the announcement, George Russell led the drivers' championship with 51 points, with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli close behind on 47 — a gap that two fewer races gives both drivers less room to open up or close down before the season reaches its midpoint.
Reaction From the Paddock
Team principals offered a range of responses to the news. Mercedes' Toto Wolff called the decision "disappointing for fans but absolutely the right decision given the circumstances," while Red Bull's Christian Horner struck a more cautious note, observing that "the extended break could be a double-edged sword for championship momentum" — a reference to the unusually long gap the cancellations create between the Japanese and Miami Grands Prix.
What This Means for Fans
Ticket holders for both cancelled events are being processed for refunds through the respective promoters, with official guidance issued directly by each circuit. For fans following the season, the more immediate consequence is the calendar gap this creates — explored in full in our companion piece on F1's 33-day break between Japan and Miami.
A Rare Double Cancellation
Formula 1 has weathered individual race cancellations before, but losing two consecutive rounds simultaneously — rather than a single event, or a postponement to a later date — is a considerably rarer occurrence for the sport. It removes not just two race weekends but two full sets of practice, qualifying and race sessions from the season's data, denying every team two opportunities to test updates, gather tyre and strategy data, and build momentum in exactly the window when early-season form is still being established.
For a sport that prizes consistency of calendar and predictability for broadcasters, sponsors and travelling fans alike, a double cancellation of this kind inevitably raises questions that will likely shape how the affected regions are treated in future calendar planning — even as the FIA's statement made clear that safety, not scheduling convenience, drove the decision.