Liberty Media still hoping Formula 1 will race in Saudi & Bahrain this season

The Saudi & Bahrain Grand Prix were cancelled earlier in the season due to the conflicts that have erupted across the Middle East. However, Liberty still hope to slot these events back into the calendar if conditions stabilize sufficiently to hold races safely. 

To an extent, you’d expect this from cash-grabbing Americans. Liberty have milked F1 extremely effectively since taking over and reported 53% revenue growth just last week. But it’s premature to talk about bringing back racing where peace hasn’t yet been secured. 

On Liberty’s earnings call, CEO Derek Chang acknowledged that the situation was less than ideal but also revealed that F1 boss Stefano Domenicali and his team are “working overtime” to identify ways of rescheduling the races for later this year.

Chang explained: “We made the difficult but appropriate decision, together with the FIA and local promoters, not to proceed with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April, given the situation in the Middle East. The well-being of everyone in F1 comes first. We always manage the calendar with that principle in mind.

“While that creates a near-term financial impact, it does not change our confidence in the long-term trajectory of the sport. We will be thoughtful in our approach; we will continuously evaluate the calendar this year.

“As Stefano mentioned to Bloomberg News last week, it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season,” he added.

With F1’s 2026 regulations going down like a lead balloon, it wasn’t the worst time for race cancellations. Teams got the chance to fettle their cars – and we saw the results of their efforts in Miami. From a safety and optics point of view, it was also the right call. 

But modern F1 is big business and Liberty are expecting to take a sizable hit in their revenue next quarter. Due to the way races have lined up, there will be five events in the same period that eight that took place in 2025. At the moment, they won’t be getting ticketing or hospitality money from the cancelled races either. 

All this means they’re hell-bent on bringing back these Grands Prix. It’s not like the F1 parade can be halted at any moment. This would take a serious amount of planning. Hence, Mr. Domenicali is said to be working all hours. But there are potential weekends where they could slot back in. 

Logistically, it’s going to be a nightmare to get Bahrain and Saudi Arabia back on the calendar. But there are a couple of places that make better sense than others.

F1 is already returning to Asia in late September, early October for the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix. So, it’s not impossible to turn that into a triple header. Teams would face a rush to be ready for the USA-Mexico-Brazil legs of the season soon afterward, but as mentioned, money talks!

The season also ends in Qatar & Abu Dhabi, opening another opportunity to race in the Middle East. That is being held after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, though. Would Liberty be willing to move one of its precious new events in the US just to extend the calendar?

There’s enough time to make things work, but you’d think this is down the list of options, as things stand anyway. At the moment, it’s impossible to tell whether the region will be sufficiently stable to hold an event which also places a question mark around Qatar and Abu Dhabi...

Either way, Domenicali recently told Bloomberg “the calendar is already full," so there’s likely only room for one race to return. Saudi reportedly has the highest hosting fee, but let’s how things stack up. 

If conditions don’t allow for Bahrain or Saudi Arabia to return, F1 is happy to accept a 22-race calendar. But if another one were to drop off the list, it’s reasonable to assume that we’ll race at another circuit later in 2026. Enter Istanbul, Hockenheim, or Sepang?

Not necessarily. During Liberty’s earnings call, Domenicali deflected a question about where else F1 could race. Given the fact Liberty physically owns 39 acres of Las Vegas land, one analyst suggested that a double-header on The Strip might actually be the easiest option. 

Again, F1’s money men wouldn’t be drawn on this. But it’s already May, and plans need to be put in place pronto. Liberty have generated $617 million in revenue over the first three months of this year alone, so it’s not like they’re struggling.

However, Domenicali will need to make a call soon, if the cash is going to keep rolling in. (Quotes by Liberty & Bloomberg)