WRC round in Saudi Arabia cancelled over Middle East conflict
The FIA has cancelled the final round of this season's World Rally Championship, scheduled for November in Saudi Arabia, citing the situation in the Middle East. The Formula 1 race in the country is also now in doubt.
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The International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced on Thursday that it is cancelling the final round of this year's World Rally Championship (WRC), which had been scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia in November. The federation cited the ongoing conflict situation in the Middle East as the reason for the decision.
The move means the 2025 WRC season will conclude without its planned finale in the region, which in recent years had become one of the newest and geographically most distant stops on the championship calendar.
Formula 1 also affected
A similar situation has raised questions about the Formula 1 race in Saudi Arabia, one of the most prominent motorsport events in the Middle East region. No official decision on cancelling or rescheduling the F1 race has been announced so far, but the unstable regional situation poses a risk to that event as well.
Both WRC and F1 organisers have in recent years sought to expand their events' geographic reach, adding more rounds outside traditional European countries, including in the Middle East. However, the region's geopolitical situation now creates additional risks for holding such events safely and reliably.
