Formula 1 CEO says rescheduling one Middle East race is an option
The cancellation of two of the season’s 24 races dealt a financial blow to the sport
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[LONDON] Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said that it may only be possible to reschedule one of the two Middle Eastern races cancelled earlier this season due to the Iran war.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix were cut from the early part of the season following the conflict, leading to a gap in the race calendar for April.
“I think to reschedule two events is already quite difficult,” Domenicali said. “Our calendar is already quite full. We may recover one.”
Because of extreme summer temperatures in the region, any rescheduled races would need to be moved to the end of the year, closer to the existing late-season events in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The cancellation of two of the season’s 24 races dealt a financial blow to the sport, as both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay substantial annual fees to be hosts. Securing a date for at least one of the cancelled races would recover a portion of this anticipated revenue.
Beyond the scheduling difficulties caused by the cancelled events, F1 teams are facing immediate financial pressure from the rising costs of fuel and global transportation, Domenicali warned.
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“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.
While F1 executives currently have plans in place to manage these increases, Domenicali acknowledged that further market volatility could force the organisation to reevaluate its strategy. BLOOMBERG
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