F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Cancelled: Why was race called off and who wins?

Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Bahrain Grand Prix Cancelled: Why was race called off and who wins?

Why is there no F1 action this weekend?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 12 April 2026 13:55

We should be enjoying the fourth race of the F1 season this weekend, but unforeseen circumstances mean that there is still no F1 race for another three weeks.

There has not been a race since the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of March, and we will not have another one until the Miami GP at the beginning of May.

It means that the 2026 season has had an unplanned five-week break, not ideal when F1 are trying to show off the wholesale regulation changes to fans around the world.

We now only have 22 grands prix on the 2026 calendar, rather than previously planned 24.

But why? And which teams might enjoy this five-week break in the season?

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Why is there no F1 race this weekend?

The Bahrain Grand Prix that was scheduled for Sunday, April 12 was cancelled by F1 due to the war in the Middle East, with safety of all involved being the number one priority for F1 and the FIA.

With the situation in the Middle East still uncertain, F1 opted to cancel both the Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, which were both originally scheduled for April.

No races were added to the schedule in their place, with the logistics of putting on an event at such short notice deemed to be too much.

Winners and losers of Bahrain GP cancellation

There are a number of teams who will be very grateful that they have five weeks off to take stock and try and work hard on their 2026 machinery.

One of those will be Aston Martin, who have only had one car finish a grand prix so far in 2026 across all three grand prix weekends, with Fernando Alonso limping over the line at the Japanese GP.

Aston Martin have had a dismal start to the year, with their Honda power unit giving them power output and reliability issues. Even when Aston Martin have completed the session, they have been right at the back of the pack.

Design legend Adrian Newey will be working hard to try and bring upgrades to the AMR26 during this five-week break, while Honda will be trying to figure out some of the conundrums of their power unit.

Alternatively, Mercedes will be frustrated not to be out on track. The Brackley-based outfit are the dominant team in the sport this year, and have opened up a 45-point gap at the top of the constructors' championship.

However, Mercedes have a June 1 deadline for when they need to change their power unit, after the FIA tweaked its sporting regulations after a vote between the five power unit manufacturers which outlawed the team's geometric compression ratio trick.

That is believed to be worth around 0.3 seconds per lap, but will not be able to be used from the Monaco GP onwards, so there is every reason to suggest Mercedes need to build as big a gap in both championships before that rule comes in.

In this sense, Ferrari, McLaren, and everybody else who are trying to catch Mercedes, are arguably the big winners of the Bahrain Grand Prix being cancelled this weekend.

F1 Mercedes Aston Martin Bahrain Grand Prix