Missile strikes in the region led to the cancellation of Pirelli’s final pre-season tyre test at the Bahrain International Circuit, while airspace closures and transit hub shutdowns forced hundreds of paddock members to urgently rearrange flights to Australia.
Speaking on the Today show from Albert Park on Monday morning, Auld acknowledged the situation had forced last-minute changes for teams and officials heading to Australia, but said the sport’s global logistics operation had responded quickly.
“The events of the weekend have certainly meant there’s been some reshuffling of some travel plans,” Auld said.
“But the Formula 1 organisation are very good at moving people around the world.
“That’s what they do. And so they’ve been able to do that and we’re not expecting any impacts on our race.”
Auld revealed the scale of the logistical task, estimating close to 1000 travelling personnel had already needed to alter their flights into Australia.
“I mean a lot of this is done by Formula 1. So you’re talking about teams, drivers, Formula 1 personnel,” he said.
“I’m guessing there’d be close to 1000 people that would have already booked their flights and would be landing somewhere between sort of today, tomorrow, Wednesday.
“So they had to all be changed.”
Despite the global squeeze on flights, Auld said the key outcome was that the reshuffle had been successful, with freight already in Melbourne.
“But they’ve been able to sort it out, is the important part. All the freight is here and ready to go,” he said.
“And so we’re in a space where we’re really confident there’ll be no impact.”
F1 pre-season plunged into turmoil over Middle East conflict
While contingency planning has been ongoing behind the scenes, Auld indicated critical personnel had been prioritised to ensure the event runs smoothly.
“I’m sure the teams, for example, have contingency plans,” he said.
“I think there’s obviously critical race staff, and they’ve been prioritised, and they were the first ones to confirm their new flight plan.”
He also moved to calm fears about the competitive field being affected, making clear the headline names will be on the grid, along with the cars and equipment required for the race.
“The drivers will be here. The engineers will be here. The team principals will be here. They’re the ones that have been prioritised,” Auld said.
“And so you won’t see any sort of surprise drivers under a helmet.
“[The cars are] all sitting on the main straight now in containers and ready to be put in the garages ready to go.”
In a statement released over the weekend, Formula 1 confirmed the opening three rounds of the 2026 season in Australia, China and Japan are not under immediate threat despite the regional instability, and Auld echoed that confidence.
“Obviously the circumstances have changed things in the lead up, but this is a major event,” he said.
“There’s always things you need to be able to work around and change plans and be agile.
“That’s just what the team are used to doing.”
