The organizers of the Bahrain Grand Prix announced Monday that the Formula One race next month had been canceled because of the political unrest in the country.

The race, which was scheduled to run March 13 at the Sakhir circuit, outside the capital, Manama, was to have been the first of the 20-race season, which will now begin with the Australian Grand Prix on March 27.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, the son of the king, on Monday told the Formula One promoter Bernie Ecclestone by telephone that Bahrain was obliged to cancel the race date.

“At the present time, the country’s entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain,” Prince Salman said in a statement released by the Bahrain International Circuit. “We felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain’s Formula One race to a later date.”