FORMULA ONE chiefs were forced to release a statement as teams face a scramble to reach Australia amid bombings in the Middle East.
The new 2026 season gets underway in Melbourne next weekend.
But the 2,000-strong group of staff for F1 and the teams are being forced into finding alternative travel arrangements to get there.
Many are still in the Middle East following testing in Bahrain.
But Iranian strikes on facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE in response to missiles sent by the USA and Israel after President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” across Iran.
Those bombings prompted the closure of the major airport hubs in Doha and Dubai – the bases for Qatar and Emirates airlines respectively.
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As a result, F1 personnel have frantically changed flight plans via Hong Kong or Singapore.
Others are going directly to Perth with Qantas before catching an internal connection across to the east coast.
The season starts Down Under on March 8 before Grand Prix in China (March 15) and Japan (March 29).
However, if the worrying scenes continue in the Middle East, F1 bosses could be forced into a scheduling change.
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There would be major question marks over the Bahrain race (April 12) and the one in Saudi Arabia (April 19).
The season ends with another doubleheader in the region in Qatar (November 29) and the finale in Abu Dhabi (December 6).
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The Bahrain and Saudi events are on course to go ahead as planned as things stand.
But an F1 spokesperson confirmed they will keep tabs on the troubles to see if they need to make any late adjustments, with contingency plans said to be in place.
They said: “Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan, not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks.
“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”