James Moy Photography/Getty Images Despite President Donald Trump's promises that his ill-advised war against Iran would be two weeks long, the conflict is still ongoing four months later. Along with the thousands of military casualties and civilian deaths, the war has both constrained the global economy and derailed any plans to organize international events in West Asia. The FIA World Endurance Championship is the latest racing series on the verge of relocating events out of the Gulf states. This move comes as Formula 1 considers the fate of its rounds in the region this season. With sporadic barrages of ballistic missiles and explosive drones, it's not the smartest idea to run floodlit Western spectator events within range of Iran. Daily Sportscar reports that WEC officials are set to relocate the Qatar 1812 km and the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final two rounds of the 2026 season. The Qatar round was initially the season opener, but was postponed with the start of hostilities. The October and November races would be moved to Barcelona, Spain, and Monza, Italy. Both replacement European rounds would be six-hour races. It's unclear when F1 or WEC will return to the Gulf Clive Mason/Getty Images Formula One is stuck in a similar scheduling dilemma with its world championship. While April's race weekends in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off, organizers postponed the events in the hopes of running them later in the year. Also, F1's final two rounds are also scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi. According to Racer, F1 planned to hold a postponed race on the first weekend of October, between Azerbaijan and Singapore. These championships are so adamant on forcing business as usual because its partnerships in the Gulf are absurdly lucrative. Forbes reported that F1 is set to lose $200 million in revenue if the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are canceled. That sum of lost earnings would only get larger if it doesn't race in Qatar or Abu Dhabi this year. If that proves to be the case, the F1 season will likely conclude on November 21 with the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Liked by Leo Mitchell, Sophie Rogers
Liked by Leo Mitchell, Sophie Rogers
Liked by Leo Mitchell, Sophie Rogers
