
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has opened the door to rescheduling one of the races lost in April amid the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
The nation of Iran and the United States have been locked in a war for the past month, leading to complications for F1 to race in the area.
Over the past decade, F1 has moved to invest heavily in the Middle East, offering multiple races, including the series’ finale in Abu Dhabi.
As a result of their expansion into the area, a good portion of their calendar’s races have been canceled.
The Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were both canceled due to the war, leaving the last race happening five weeks before the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May.
For a sport with so many logistics involved in moving the fear from track to track, there is a serious need for freight shipping, and the war has made sea travel quite a challenge.
According to ESPN, the decision to cancel the Bahrain race was relatively easy, but the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was trickier.
However, in the lead-up to the Miami race, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has hinted that one of the canceled races could be held down the line.
“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.”
The F1 calendar is already quite tightly packed, leaving little room for moves. There are already questions about the races in Qatar on November 29 and in Abu Dhabi as the conflict in Iran continues.
With so much uncertainty, it is hard to get a track ready for such a short turnaround and have a great effort only for it to be canceled once again.
There are still some gaps in the calendar that could be filled if the entire race series makes a concerted effort and gets all the teams on the same page.
There will be little rest if even one of these canceled races is held, but when there is a wild, there can be a way that opens up.
