F1 considering new date for Saudi Arabian GP which will shake entire season up
Former Dutch racing driver Robert Doornbos has suggested that the recently cancelled Middle East Grands Prix – in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – may yet be rescheduled to take place later this year.
The Bahrain and Saudi races were originally scheduled to take place on April 12 and April 19, respectively, before both were cancelled due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran in the Middle East.
This has resulted in F1 taking a lengthy five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and the next race in Miami on May 3.
The two race cancellations mean the number of Grands Prix in the 2026 campaign has been reduced from 24 to 22 as things stand.
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However, former Formula 1 driver Doornbos believes the Middle East races may take place after all, with the Dutchman – who raced for Minardi and Red Bull between 2005 and 2006 – suggesting the Saudi Grand Prix could happen on December 6, with the Abu Dhabi race moving to December 13.
"I heard something else," he told Ziggo Sport’s De Stamtafel programme.
"We know Aramco as the sponsor of Formula 1. They are promoting the event in Jeddah enormously, because that is their gem. Jeddah could yet come back to the calendar this year.”
Aramco – otherwise known as Saudi Aramco – is a majority state-owned petroleum and gas company which sponsors several sporting events, including F1, as well as being a partner of FIFA and the ICC.
"They now say that they are moving Abu Dhabi by a week and that they are slotting Jeddah in between," he added.
"That means you finish the season with four races in a row – Las Vegas, Qatar, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi."
Doornbos also claimed that Abu Dhabi has a contract which states the season finale must always take place there.
"It will probably take a while before the calendar changes are confirmed," the 44-year-old continued.
In March, F1 confirmed that the Middle East races had been pulled after “careful evaluation due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region”.
And while they stated the races would “not take place in April”, an official statement did not comment on whether they would be reorganised later in the year.
SPORTbible has contacted F1 for comment
Topics: Formula 1, Saudi Arabia
Luke Davies