Formula One Cancels Bahrain & Saudi Arabia GPs Due to War

0:00In Sydney today, March 14th, Formula 1 has cancelled its Grand Prix weekends in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. These were set to be rounds 4 and 5 of the championship, with Bahrain scheduled for April 10th through 12th and Saudi Arabia the following, weakened, freight for the events needed to ship out soon. But Iranian air strikes hit Bahrain's capital Manama, and officials deemed Jeddah too risky for the. With no end in sight to the conflict, Formula 1 bosses pulled the plug despite the race still being about a month away. Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicale called it a tough but necessary call given the situation. The cancellations mean a big financial blow, around 100 million British pounds, or about $189 million, since both. Hosts pay top fees. The news came this morning in Shanghai, right before the Chinese Grand Prix. There will be no replacement races in April, shrinking the season from 24 to 22 rounds.

1:04Now there's a 5-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29th and the Miami Grand Prix on May 3rd. Meanwhile, the sports governing body, the FIA, already postponed Qatar's World Endurance Championship opener from late March to October. Appreciation to our sponsor for backing this episode. Podcasts hit different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense.