The Chinese Grand Prix Formula 1, which was to be held on April 16, 2023 in Shanghai, has been canceled due to the “current difficulties presented by the Covid-19 situation,” the world championship announced in a statement on Friday.
Formula 1 has not returned to China since 2019, where the restrictions are drastic to fight the pandemic. Several “alternative options” are being studied by F1 to replace the event and maintain a schedule of 24 races, which would be a record.
If F1 does not replace the event, a 23-race seasonbeing the first in Bahrain on March 5, would already be a record in itself, with the current 22 Grand Prix.
A week after a BBC article announcing this cancellation, Formula 1, which denied it at the time, now officially confirms it, after a new “dialogue with the promoter and with the competent authorities.”
This decision comes after a wave of anger demonstrations in China against health restrictions and for more freedoms, last weekend. And that despite signs this week of possible relief by the authorities from their strict “zero covid” policy.
According to the BBC, F1 staff would not have been exempt from quarantine requirements in case of covid-19 infection, making this test in the country too risky an event for teams on a very tight schedule.
The absence of China, for the fourth consecutive season since the start of the pandemic, leaves an empty gap between the Australian Grand Prix on April 2 and that of Azerbaijan on April 30.
To seek to maintain the 24 races, Formula 1 can count on a reserve of suitors, as Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali explained to AFP at the end of October during the Mexican Grand Prix: “There are many other countries that would like to host a Grand Prix. Tomorrow morning, we could sign with seven or eight more countries.”
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