Australian F1 organisers insist "the drivers will be here" amid travel chaos

The Australian Grand Prix has insisted there will be no problems with the 2026 Formula 1 season-opener going ahead despite travel chaos in the Middle East due to the Iran conflict.

Following the joint US-Israel strikes on Iran in recent days, airports across the Middle East have grounded flights as airspace has been shut down.

This has caused major travel disruption, with many Middle Eastern airports travel hubs.

The effects of this have already been felt in the motorsport world, with hundreds of F1 personnel and paddock members finding their original flights to Melbourne cancelled.

The MotoGP paddock in Thailand is also being impacted, with many unable to fly home from last weekend’s race.

Charter flights organised to get F1 paddock to Melbourne

The situation in the Middle East also led to a Pirelli wet tyre test at the weekend being cancelled.

A statement from F1 on the matter, with the Bahrain Grand Prix and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix taking place next month, read: “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 the relevant authorities.”

According to Australian Grand Prix chief Travis Auld, who spoke to local media Channel Nine, F1 has organised charter flights to get around 500 paddock personnel to Melbourne.

As such, he is confident the race will go ahead without any problems.

“The drivers will be here, the engineers will be here, the team principals will be here,” he said.

“They are the ones who have been prioritised.

“So, we won’t see any surprise drivers under the helmets.

“But obviously the circumstances have changed on the lead up.

“But this is a major event. There’s always thing you need to be able to work around and change plans and be agile. But that’s just what the team is used to doing.”

He added: “All the freight is here and ready to go. We’re in a space where we’re really confident there will be no impact.”

It’s not the first time the Australian Grand Prix has faced uncertainty due to world events.

In 2020, the race was still scheduled to go ahead despite the worsening COVID-19 pandemic gripping the world.

The race was eventually cancelled after the McLaren team was forced into quarantine when one member tested positive for the virus.

Other series, such as the FIA World Endurance Championship, who is due to race in Qatar at the end of the month, have also said they are keeping tabs of the developing situation in the Middle East.