F1 make decision on replacing cancelled races with new Grand Prix this season | F1 | Sport

Formula One chiefs are reportedly exploring options to add at least one Grand Prix to the schedule following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races. The races, which were pencilled in as the fourth and fifth of the season, respectively, were cancelled following the outbreak of war in the region.

The FIA did allow for a bit of wriggle room with their wording, as they said the races “cannot go ahead in April,” as was originally planned. However, it felt that the uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East, and the congested nature of the calendar, meant that any rescheduling attempts would end up futile.

But that could be about to change, as RacingNews365 have reported the weekend of October 2-4 is being reviewed as a potential slot. It falls in between the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan and the one in Singapore, and may be used to rescue one of the Bahrain or Saudi Arabian races.

It’s claimed that Bahrain is being considered the most likely, with the FIA more keen on hosting it there, compared to Saudi Arabia. That being said, the same report claims Saudi chiefs are lobbying hard for the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit to be reinstated instead.

Alternatively, there is talk that a quadruple header could be set up to finish the season. It would be placed between the weekends of Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which already follows Las Vegas in the schedule.

To accommodate this, Abu Dhabi would be pushed back to December 13, and while logistically it should work fine, there is a suggestion that it could be asking too much of the teams at the end of a long season. Meanwhile, there are concerns that fans who have bought tickets and flights for the weekend the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is originally scheduled for could be left short-changed.

Contractually, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has to be the last race on the calendar, preventing Saudi Arabia from hosting it on the December 13 slot. It’s clear to see that the process of reinstating races has caused a significant headache for the Formula One bigwigs.

There is currently a two-week gap in between races following the weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, which was won by championship leader, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Formula One circus will roll into Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix towards the end of May.