"Safety and wellbeing” will determine whether major motorsport events due to take place in Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will go ahead, as military conflict in the region continues.
A United States-Israel attack on Iran has sparked war across various Middle Eastern countries, including those that have prominent early-season places in F1, MotoGP and World Endurance Championship schedules.
There has already been low-level disruption for F1 as many personnel travelling to Australia for the season opener this week go via Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, and have had to seek alternative routes at the last minute.
It is expected that the Australian Grand Prix will go ahead with no material disruption, although it is not clear what contingency measures have been taken by F1 or the teams in terms of personnel or late freight that was due to pass through the Middle East and have been delayed.
The bigger issue from a motorsport perspective is the events that are due to take place in the Middle East countries themselves in just a few weeks.
There is pre-season testing and the opening round of the WEC due to take place in Qatar at the end of March, before MotoGP races at the Lusail circuit on April 12.
That same weekend F1 is due to race in Bahrain - where a tyre test had to be cancelled on Saturday - before moving onto Saudi Arabia for April 19.
Races in the region
WEC: Qatar, March 22-23 and March 28
MotoGP: Qatar, April 12
F1: Bahrain, April 12 and Saudi Arabia, April 19
F1 is keeping a serious watching brief, although with grands prix in Australia, China and Japan to come first it is not something that needs resolving imminently, as there is time to see how the situation unfolds.
The championship says it is closely monitoring the situation and is working closely with relevant authorities.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has urged that “dialogue and the protection of civilians must remain priorities” and added in a statement: “We are in close contact with our Member Clubs, championship promoters, teams, and colleagues on the ground as we monitor developments carefully and responsibly.
“Safety and wellbeing will guide our decisions as we assess the forthcoming events scheduled there for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the FIA Formula One World Championship.
“Our organisation is built on unity and shared purpose. That unity matters now more than ever.”
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