RT.com
23 Nov 2022, 04:13 GMT+10
The event has been absent from the F1 schedule since 2019
China looks set to again be absent from the Formula 1 schedule next year, amid reports that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix has been cancelled due to the country's Covid-19 restrictions, according to the BBC.
There has not been a Formula 1 event in China since 2019, before the pandemic took hold, but the motorsport was due to return for what was to be the fourth race on next season's schedule on April 16.
However, after deliberating on the feasibility of holding a race in China in view of the country's strict Covid policies, motorsport authorities are thought to have concluded that the race cannot proceed as planned, after being told that there would be no exemptions given to F1 drivers and staff from quarantine requirements if they were to test positive for Covid-19.
The latest guidelines issued in China mandate that anyone who contracts Covid-19 must spend five days in a specially designed isolation center, and a further three days self-isolating at home or in a hotel.
Formula 1, though, has not officially confirmed the removal of the Shanghai race from the calendar, though this formality is expected to be completed in the coming days.
F1 is not expected to draft a replacement race into the schedule, meaning that there will be a four-week gap between the Australian Grand Prix on April 2 and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix later that month, on April 30.
However, F1 chairman and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali is also understood to be holding talks with the organizers of the Baku Grand Prix to move it forward by a week, though no agreement has been reached so far.
It is anticipated that the Chinese Grand Prix will return in 2024, pending the removal of various Covid-19 restrictions.
Further changes to the F1 schedule are expected in future. Azerbaijan's contract to hold races in Baku expires next year, but it is reported that talks are underway to extend the agreement by a further decade, despite claims that it could be dropped to make way for a Grand Prix in Kyalami, South Africa.
The Russian Grand Prix was cancelled for the foreseeable future earlier this year by motorsport authorities, following the launch of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Sydney Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sydney Sun.
More InformationBANGKOK, Thailand: Following China's reopening and the end of its strict COVID-19 restrictions, businesses on Thailand's holiday island of Phuket ...
NEW YORK, New York - Recession fears faded on Wall Street Thursday as annualized 4th quarter GDP (gross domestic product) ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In December 2022, US existing home sales declined to a 12-year low, but lower mortgage rates raised cautious ...
SEOUL, South Korea: Korea Customs Service data released this week showed that South Korean exports for the first 20 days ...
SEATTLE, Washington: Amazon.com's cloud services division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced that it will expand its data centers in ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks crumbled on Wednesday as the extended rally on Wall Street came to an ...
YONKERS, New York: After testing discovered harmful levels of heavy metals in chocolate, consumer magazine Consumer Reports has urged four ...
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: As Burkina Faso, in western Africa, faces an Islamist insurgency, it is set to end a military ...
TOKYO, Japan: Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida said this week that it was "now or never" for Japan, one of ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: As part of its efforts to simplify the national COVID-19 vaccine strategy, the US Food and Drug Administration ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: US authorities said this week that a surge in Cubans and Nicaraguans arriving at the US border with ...
OTTAWA, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government plans to implement its long-awaited workforce transition bill, the "Just Transition," ...