F1 decision on replacing races, last-minute phone call and announcement on Grand Prix

Formula One has been forced into an impromptu spring break just three races into the new season. The conflict in the Middle East saw both the Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian races cancelled at short notice, with the Formula One bigwigs opting not to replace them on the calendar.

It's given constructors a chance to make amendments to their cars following the introduction of the new regulations at the beginning of the season. Racing will resume at the start of May, over one month since the last race in Japan, but in the meantime, Express Sport has rounded up the biggest and best stories from the world of Formula One.

Last-minute phone call to reschedule races

Peter Malinauskas, the state premier of South Australia, made a last-ditch attempt to rearrange a race for Adelaide's Parklands Circuit. Speaking to Triple M, Malinauskas said: "I reached out to Stefano Domenicali, who is the CEO of Formula One. I've been working on this a little bit for a while, and when the events got cancelled because of the Iran war, I was straight on the phone to them.

"As soon as it became obvious that they were not going to be racing in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, I was like: 'Hello, is this an opportunity?'. So I hit the phone and asked. I put it out to them." Suffice to say, the Formula One chiefs didn't take up the offer, with the gap between races remaining the same.

Next Formula One race a month away

If you're wondering when the next instalment of the 2026 Formula One season will come, you've still got around a month to wait. The campaign will resume when the drivers arrive in Miami, with the next full race taking place on Sunday, May 3. It means a whopping five weeks will have passed by the time the next race winner is crowned.

Lewis Hamilton at odds with Max Verstappen... again

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are no strangers to a battle, but their latest appears to be coming off the track. The Brit has hit back at criticisms, the loudest of which are from Verstappen, surrounding the new engine regulations.

He explained: "It's the best form of racing, and F1 has not been the best form of racing in a long, long time. Out of all the cars that I've driven in 20 years, this is the only car that you can actually follow through high speed and not completely lose everything that you have, and you can stay behind."