Global fuel crisis sparks race cancellation fears

Racing News

Global fuel crisis sparks race cancellation fears

April's F1 race cancellations could be just the beginning

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 8 April 2026 10:57

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The global fuel crisis caused by the Iran war could continue to impact motorsport events around the world as fears of further race cancellations emerge.

In February, the United States and Israel began a bombing campaign, with Iran retaliating by launching strikes that targeted US bases in nearby countries.

One of those countries was Bahrain, which led to Pirelli cancelling a wet weather tyre test scheduled on the last weekend of February at the Bahrain International Circuit, which was also set to host the fourth round of the F1 2026 championship between April 10 and April 12.

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But F1 is currently one week into a five-week enforced calendar break after FOM and the FIA made the decision to cancel both of April's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with no replacement races organised in place of the two cancelled rounds.

As F1 and the FIA use their time away from the track to attempt to fix the contentious new chassis and power unit regulations, motorsport series around the world are experiencing setbacks thanks to the growing fuel shortage caused by the war.

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Sepang 300km 'set for cancellation'

A recent report from Sportscar365 has revealed the Sepang 300km race which was set to take place in Malaysia between June 19 and June 21 is now at risk of being called off.

The Japanese sports car championship is yet to get underway this year, with the opening round set to take place this weekend in Okayama, followed by the 2026 Fuji GT 3 Hours on May 3 and May 4.

The third round of the championship was then due to take place in Malaysia at the former F1 host track, PETRONAS Sepang International Circuit, which made a popular return to the SuperGT calendar last year.

But the above publication has now reported that the event could be at risk due to the ongoing fuel crisis, stating: "It’s understood that teams were informed last week that the event will not go ahead as the government, which was a major backer of last year’s race through its Visit Malaysia initiative, has requested that large-scale events that are not of national significance are curtailed amid concerns of potential fuel shortages."

An official announcement over the cancellation has not yet been made, but with the season-opener looming, confirmation over whether this year's Sepang 300km is to go ahead or not should be expected.

A GTA spokesperson refused to comment when approached by Sportscar365 and event promoter HARO Sports & Entertainment’s managing partner Fahrizal Hasan did not respond to the publication's request for comment.

Could more F1 races be cancelled in 2026?

Whilst it would be premature to preempt the answer to this question at this stage in the season, F1 and FOM maintain that they are always monitoring global affairs.

The FIA-governed WEC series already postponed their season-opening Qatar 1812km, which was from March 26 until March 28, with no later date officially announced yet.

The F1 calendar is not scheduled to return to race in Qatar until November, the penultimate round of the 2026 season.