Pirelli Motorsport is forced to cancel its tyre test in Bahrain due to recent conflict, as F1 says it is monitoring the developing situation.
On Friday, Mercedes F1 reserve Frederik Vesti shared on social media that he is in Bahrain for Pirelli’s wet weather tyre test. Pirelli were slated to undertake a two-day test in Bahrain on February 28 and March 1, with Mercedes and McLaren, before the season opener in Australia.
But due to the escalation of the international war-like situation involving United States of America, Israel and Iran, Pirelli were forced to cancel the unusual two-day test due to security reasons, after Iran confirmed a hit on USA’s naval base in Bahrain’s Juffair area.
Pirelli informs about safety of personnel
The Italian tyre manufacturer is now making efforts to bring back its personnel, who are safe in Manama.
“The two days of development tests for wet-weather compounds, scheduled for today and tomorrow at the Bahrain International Circuit, have been cancelled for security reasons following the evolving international situation,” said Pirelli in a statement to media, who recently announced Dario Marrafuschi as new F1 boss.
“All Pirelli personnel currently in Manama are safe in their hotels. The company is working to ensure their safety and arrange their return to Italy and the UK as soon as possible.”
F1 monitoring on their end
The escalating situation is being monitored by F1 as well, with disruptions to hit in its travel to Australia for the first race. While there is little to no issue on the freight side, but the travel plans of drivers, teams, officials and even media, is likely to be affected.
For now, F1 is not worried about the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which takes place on April 12 and April 19, respectively. Usually, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races takes place in March, but due to the Ramadan festival, the races were deferred to April.
As things stand, Australia (March 8) will start the F1 2026 season, followed by races in China (March 15) and Japan (March 29), before the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races.
“Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks,” F1 said in a statement to several media. “As always we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”
Big season-opener of new regs in tense moment
It is a developing situation in the Middle East and things can change at every moment. For now, the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are on and F1 along with the FIA and teams, are making alternative arrangement to reach Australia on time, for next weekend’s big opener of 2026 season.
