F1’s Race Against Time to Recover Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2026

The 2026 calendar was supposed to be the longest in history, but Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions quickly trimmed it down. However, the commercial pressure is starting to weigh in.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have already paid their hosting fees, and with millions at stake, the F1 top brass is working overtime to find a ‘gap’ in an already saturated schedule. 

The two ‘logical’ but chaotic scenarios

Reinserting two races mid-season is a logistical nightmare, especially under the budget cap.

The first option on the table would be to fit Bahrain in October, potentially turning the Baku-Singapore sequence into a brutal triple-header. While it makes sense geographically, the teams are already voicing concerns about personnel burnout and the skyrocketing costs of urgent freight transport.

The second, even more controversial scenario, involves pushing the season finale into mid-December. This would mean squeezing Saudi Arabia between Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, or even moving the Vegas date to accommodate the Middle Eastern round.

For the teams, this is the ‘red line’, adding more travel to the final leg of the year is a recipe for operational disaster.

Liberty Media admits to be ‘working day and night’ on a solution

Derek Chang, CEO of Liberty Media, confirmed that the possibility of a late-season shuffle is being seriously evaluated, though he remains wary of the operational strain on the teams.

“We are working day and night. We will act with caution, but it could be possible to reschedule one of the races toward the end of the season,” Derek Chang shared.

This confirms that the organization is not willing to lose the multi-million dollar fees from the Middle Eastern promoters.

However, Chang’s emphasis on caution suggests that the final decision will depend on finding a slot that doesn’t completely break the teams’ logistics during the most critical part of the year.

The Turkish backup and the budget cap trap

If the Middle Eastern situation remains too volatile, Stefano Domenicali hasn’t ruled out a Plan B.

Istanbul Park is once again waiting in the wings as the ultimate replacement, ready to jump in if the original dates can’t be recovered. However, the FIA and the teams are facing a this plan with a budget cap that could derail everything.

Every extra race adds millions in freight and operational costs. For smaller teams, re-adding these events late in the year could push them over the spending limit.

Unless the FIA grants a special exemption, the dream of recovering the 24-race calendar might end up being too expensive to realize.