Bombings on Iran (and not only)
While the MotoGP World Championship begins to get into full swing this weekend in Thailand and with the start of the Formula 1 season on the horizon next weekend in Australia, the entire world woke up this morning with the news of the bombings by the United States and Israel against Iran, aimed at achieving regime change in the country. Iran responded to this attack by launching missiles against Israel and against US military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
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This escalation inevitably worries the two reference championships of world motorsport on two and four wheels and, consequently, all the professionals involved, from teams and riders to journalists. At the moment, the heads of both championships are “monitoring the situation“.
The MotoGP situation
MotoGP is in the midst of the season-opening Grand Prix, with the Sprint concluded and the Thailand GP taking place tomorrow. The concern in this case regards the possibility for people currently in Buriram to be able to return home, given that most paddock members fly with Qatar Airways or other Middle Eastern airlines.
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In this sense, it should be noted that – obviously – the airspace over Iran is currently closed. But this is not the only problem: many airlines have suspended their routes in the Middle East. Among the numerous ones are Qatar Airways itself, Air France, Air India, British Airways, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Furthermore, Dubai airport, among the busiest in the world, has suspended – at the time of writing – all operations.
The F1 situation
The situation is obviously also being observed by Formula 1, whose paddock is about to move to fly to Australia: the closure of the United Arab Emirates airspace, fundamental for allowing those arriving from Europe to reach Melbourne, is one of the problems. But it is not the only one. In fact, in just over a month, in mid-April, the Circus is scheduled to race in Bahrain. The Iranian missiles that fell in that country grazed the Juffair area, which is located near American military bases. This is an area that is usually crowded with personnel linked to Formula 1, mainly journalists. Clearly, however, the situation is constantly evolving and F1, understandably, wants to avoid creating panic and making overly hasty announcements. At the moment, therefore, the entire Circus calendar seems confirmed.
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