F1 president claims cancelled race could be reinstated to fury of teams

Stefano Domenicali, CEO Formula 1 — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 president claims cancelled race could be reinstated to fury of teams

Domenicali is open to bringing back a previously cancelled race in 2026

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 1 May 2026 14:55

F1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali has revealed it may be possible for at least one of last month's cancelled races to make a return to the slimmed down calendar later this year.

Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix had to be cancelled last month as conflict raged on in the Middle East as a result of the Iran war.

This decision brought the F1 2026 campaign down from a 24-race calendar to a 22-race affair, introducing a previously unplanned five-week hiatus between the race in Japan on March 29 and this weekend's Miami GP.

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But now, Domenicali has suggested it may still be possible for either Bahrain or Jeddah to host a race this season as rumours swirl over the sport's return to the Middle East.

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Domenicali: 'F1 may recover cancelled 2026 race'

"I think to reschedule two events is already quite difficult," Domenicali said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "Our calendar is already quite full. We may recover one."

But his eventual optimism over a potential reinstatement of one of the cancelled races also came with a warning.

"Today the biggest effect is not only to have postponed races in Bahrain and Jeddah, but also the cost of fuel and the cost of logistics is getting higher and higher," he said.

Therefore, both logistically and due to extreme weather patterns in the region, a return to either Bahrain or Jeddah in 2026 would likely come closer to the end of the season, when F1 is already planning to conclude this year's championship.

Once again, the final two races on the calendar are currently scheduled to be the Qatar GP, the penultimate race of the season, and the Abu Dhabi GP, which is set to host the season finale providing world events do not interfere.

If F1 was able to find a way to bring back either the Bahrain or the Saudi Arabian GP however, it wouldn't necessarily go down particularly well with this year's teams, with some constructors' having already voiced concerns over the hypothetical replacement race.

As reports spread via international media in April 2026 that Saudi Arabia could still host an event on this year's calendar, Japanese outlet AS-Web suggested that the organisers in Jeddah were not giving up just yet.

But the report also revealed that some of this year's top teams, including current championship leaders Mercedes, had already rejected the plan, in part due to the impracticality of such a tight racing schedule, as well as the major logistical challenges it would impose on not just the Silver Arrows, but all the teams up and down the grid.

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Stefano Domenicali Jeddah Corniche Circuit F1 calendar