First Formula 1 race of 2027 scheduled in Bahrain despite Middle Eastern uncertainty

Formula 1 has announced a 24-round calendar for 2027, with the Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled to open the championship on March 14. The announcement comes while questions remain over whether this year’s races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi can proceed amid continued security concerns in the Middle East.

Bahrain gets opening slot

Bahrain is set to host the first race of the 2027 season, followed by the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix one week later. The event in Bahrain will also feature a sprint, making it the first time an F1 championship has started with a sprint weekend.

Bahrain has frequently hosted the season opener in recent years, although that position changed in 2025 and 2026 because the calendar had to avoid a clash with Ramadan. The country will also host preseason testing in February.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had their 2026 races cancelled because of the Iran war. An additional race in Malaysia next month will carry Bahrain Grand Prix branding.

The 2027 calendar still includes Qatar on November 29 and Abu Dhabi on December 6. F1 has explored the possibility of shifting the season-ending events to Europe should the Middle East races become impossible, although tickets for both races remain on sale.

Sprint format expands

Formula 1 will increase the number of sprint events from six to 10 in 2027. Monaco will stage its first sprint, despite the Monte Carlo circuit being known for limited overtaking opportunities.

F1 said sprint weekends recorded average viewership 12 per cent higher than weekends without the shorter race format. Chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the expansion is “giving our fans even more intensity, drama, and the wheel-to-wheel action that make our sport so special,"

The increased sprint schedule will also avoid conflicts with two major races outside F1. The 2027 calendar does not overlap with the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 or the Le Mans 24-hour race on June 12-13. Both clashes occurred in 2026, while four-time world champion Max Verstappen has previously expressed an interest in competing at Le Mans in the future.

Portugal and Turkey return

Portugal will return to the F1 calendar in June, marking the championship's first visit since 2021. The Portimao circuit replaces the Dutch Grand Prix.

Turkey is also coming back in October after securing a five-year agreement in April.

Barcelona, meanwhile, will disappear from the calendar for the first time since 1990. The Circuit de Catalunya lost the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid this year but continued as the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. It will now alternate with the Belgian Grand Prix and is scheduled to return in 2028.

Middle East races remain uncertain

F1 has yet to announce any change to the 2026 Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds. Italy's Imola is viewed as one possible European replacement, with Domenicali suggesting in July that a decision could be made around mid-September.

The Middle Eastern events remain commercially important because of their hosting payments and major sponsorship agreements involving Saudi Aramco and Qatar Airways.

The upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix will also take F1 closer to Iran than any other race since the war began this year, with Azerbaijan sharing a land border with Iran.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem defended the decision to wait before making changes, saying the sport should not “jump the gun".

“Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not. We will not," he added.

Uncertainty increased this week after Formula 2 added an additional event in Azerbaijan, although it said it still plans to compete in Qatar and Abu Dhabi under a “usual weekend format."

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