It has been definitively ruled out by Formula 1 to hold a replacement race for the Bahrain GP in 2026. The main obstacle to the return of the race in Bahrain, as well as in Saudi Arabia, is the combination of geopolitical uncertainties and logistical challenges, which made the rescheduling of the calendar unfeasible.
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The category was considering fitting the Bahrain round between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs, after the cancellation of the race originally scheduled for April. However, the need for an immediate decision and the lack of time for planning led to the abandonment of the idea.
According to Dario Marrafuschi, the new head of motorsport at Pirelli, preparing for an operation of this magnitude requires a schedule that could no longer be met: “We are talking about a preparation period of about four months. It takes about fifteen weeks to organize transportation of this scale,” he said in an interview with Motorsport.com Italy.
With less than three months available until the initially considered date, the situation became even more complicated due to instability in the region: “In the Middle East, unfortunately, it remains impossible to predict how stable the situation will be in the Strait of Hormuz region,” explained Marrafuschi.
The executive highlighted that there are currently two major logistical bottlenecks, the Strait of Hormuz itself and the area controlled by the Houthis, a rebel group operating in Yemen that influences traffic in the Red Sea: “We are dealing with two logistical bottlenecks, the Strait of Hormuz itself and the area controlled by the Houthis, which complicates the passage of cargo ships,” he said.
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Pirelli evaluated different alternatives to transport its material to the Persian Gulf. One of them would involve circumnavigating the entire African continent, since the traditional route through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea is considered unsafe due to attacks recorded in the Bab al-Mandab region.
Another possibility, described by the executive as only theoretical, would be to use the Suez Canal and then proceed overland through Saudi Arabia: “We could cross the Suez Canal and then cross Saudi Arabia from Jeddah towards the rest of the Middle East, provided this route is passable and efficient,” he added.
Despite the alternatives studied, the conclusion was that the risks remain high: “At the moment, unfortunately, uncertainty is the dominant factor,” summarized Marrafuschi. He continued, saying that not even an alternative route would solve all doubts: “I wouldn’t know how long it would take to reach a potential race in the Middle East, also because, even if we could go around Africa, we would still need to know if the Strait of Hormuz is open,” he concluded.
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