F1 issues statement about Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs after Iran missile attacks

F1 has moved to calm fears that some of its upcoming races could be impacted by the current situation in the Middle East.

The US and Israel began a bombing campaign in Iran on Saturday, with Iran retaliating by launching strikes targeting a number of US bases in nearby countries.

One of those countries is Bahrain, where F1 teams recently held their pre-season testing, with videos on social media showing explosions apparently just 20km away from the race track in Sakhir.

F1 and team personnel have all left Bahrain already following the conclusion of testing, although some are now having to rearrange their travel plans for the Australian Grand Prix, finding alternatives to flights which would normally see them having layovers in the Middle East.

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F1 statement on Middle East turmoil

A statement provided to GPFans by an F1 spokesperson read: “Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan not in the Middle East - those races are not for a number of weeks.

“As always we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”

Pirelli cancel Bahrain tyre test

A Pirelli tyre test planned for Bahrain this weekend has been scrubbed from the calendar, with the company having intended to soak the track with water to test its wet weather tyres.

Those wet tyres could yet come into play next weekend in Melbourne too, as weather warnings have been put in place throughout the state of Victoria, which Melbourne lies in.

Thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding are expected in the region on Tuesday, just three days out from the start of the grand prix weekend, and this could affect teams and paddock personnel as they arrive to set up their stalls for the weekend.

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