F1 officials forced into mass last-minute Aus GP changes as Middle East conflict sparks chaos

F1 officials are having to change their travel plans to get to Melbourne following the bombings in the Middle East.

With the F1 season getting underway at Albert Park next weekend, roughly 2,000 staff connected with F1 teams have been forced to alter their arrangement to get to Australia, according to a report by The Sun.

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There are no fears about the Melbourne race being cancelled, but travel plans have become far more complicated as a result of Iranian strikes in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Many F1 officials are still in Bahrain following last month’s pre-season testing, while major airports in Doha and Dubai have been closed.

Some F1 staff have changed their flight plans to fly through Singapore or Hong Kong, while others will now fly direct to Perth from London before taking a domestic flight to Melbourne.

An F1 spokesperson spoke to media about the situation with concerns raised over next month’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

“Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan, not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks,” a F1 spokesperson said.

“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”

F1 is not the only sport that has been impacted.

The escalation in the Middle East is set to have significant implications on this year’s FIFA World Cup in the United States.

Iran are scheduled to play group matches in June against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles before a clash with Egypt in Seattle.

FIFA has said it will monitor developments from the conflict, but it is expected that the Iranian national team will not be allowed into the US.

“We had a meeting today and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said.

“We had the finals draw in Washington in which all teams participated, and our focus is on a safe World Cup with all the teams participating. We will continue to communicate as we always do with three [host] governments as we always do in any case. Everybody will be safe.”

But the Iranian Football Federation acknowledged that it was not unlikely that their men’s team will play in the World Cup.

“With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that,” Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, said on Iranian public television.

Iraq or the UAE would be the likely replacements to fill the vacant Asian spots.

Iran’s women’s team will still take part in the Women’s Asian Cup, and they will face the Matildas on the Gold Coast on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev is among a group of tennis players stranded in Dubai.

Medvedev won the ATP’s Dubai Championships on Saturday and is due to travel to the United States for next week’s Indian Wells tournament.

Cricket’s England Lions have cancelled a match with the Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have also delayed next week’s scheduled trip for their women’s squad to Abu Dhabi.

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