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Formula One has said it is “closely monitoring” the situation in the Middle East ahead of upcoming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Missile strikes continue to rock the region after United States and Israeli forces attacked Iran with several countries closing their airspace.
The US and Israel launched a major attack on targets across Iran as Donald Trump called on the Iranian people to “take over your government”.
The first strikes appeared to target the compound of Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in central Tehran. It was not clear if he was there at the time.
“For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” the US president said in a video posted on social media.
He urged Iranians to take cover during the strikes, but added: “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that one strike at a girls’ school in Minab in Hormozgan province had killed 40 people. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has a base in the city.
A number of F1’s vast travelling circus were scheduled to head to Australia for next weekend’s opening race via the Middle East, with some now having to reroute their flights.
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British driver Lando Norris is due to open his title defence in Australia a week on Sunday (Bradley Collyer/PA)
It is understood F1 chiefs are confident the season-opener in Melbourne a week on Sunday will be unaffected.
However, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are due to host the fourth and fifth rounds of the new campaign on April 12 and April 19 respectively.
And an F1 spokesperson said: “Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan and 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 relevant authorities.”
Last summer, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitted the sport had a contingency plan in place for the final two rounds of the season – in Qatar on November 30 and in Abu Dhabi a week later – amid political tensions in the Middle East.
Both races went ahead as planned.
