CAIRO, March 15. The Formula One World Championship has cancelled the Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the situation in the Middle East. This was announced by the Formula 1 press service. The statement said that the organization considered several alternative options for the Grand Prix, but ultimately decided not to make any substitutions.

„Although it was a difficult decision, unfortunately at this stage it is the right one, given the current situation in the Middle East,“ said Formula One President and CEO Stefano Domenicali. „Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are incredibly important to the ecosystem of our racing season and I look forward to returning to both regions as soon as circumstances allow. I sincerely thank the organisers, our partners and colleagues across the championship for their cooperation and constructive approach that led to this decision,“ added FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was scheduled for April 10-12 and the Saudi Arabia race for April 17-19. This leaves a four-week break in the championship after the Japanese Grand Prix (27-29 March). The next round will take place from 1-3 May in Miami, Florida, USA. On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were hit.

The White House justified the attack with missile and nuclear threats allegedly emanating from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation in which it attacked targets in Israel. US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other key figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed in strikes on Iran.

TASS/gnews.cz-jav