The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix scheduled for next month are scheduled to be canceled due to the aftermath of the Middle East war.
An official decision to cancel the race has not yet been made but is expected to come before the end of the weekend.
I need to deliver my cargo to the Middle East in the next few days. With the conflict between the United States/Israel and Iran showing no signs of reaching a conclusion, continuing the race would place personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event will be replaced, so the season will be reduced to 22 grands prix and F1 will see a commercial hit of more than £100m given that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.
The Bahrain race was due to take place on April 12 with Jeddah the following weekend.
Hosting events in Portimao, Portugal, Imola, Italy and Istanbul Park, Turkey were also considered.
However, it was accepted that time was too short to hold the race anywhere and that there was little chance of securing funding.
The decision means there will be a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and Miami on May 3.
