Organisers of the Brazilian Grand Prix are confident that the race will take place this year, but admitted that they would like the Grand Prix to be rescheduled by seven days. Last season, the event at Sao Paulo could not take place due to the pandemic and its future was shrouded in uncertainty amid an attempt to move the race to Rio de Janeiro.
Yet a new five-year contract was reached, meaning that the Formula 1 race will continue to be held at Interlagos. As part of the new deal a new promoter was installed while the event has been renamed under the Sao Paulo Grand Prix label.
The race in Brazil was originally scheduled for November 14 but was later moved forward by one week in order to create a triple-header with the United States and Mexico, thus opening a slot for the Melbourne event to take place later in November. However, the race in Australia was eventually cancelled, which meant that a vacancy appeared in the calendar between Sao Paulo’s round on November 7 and Saudi Arabia’s inaugural grand prix on December 5.
Earlier today important figures in Sao Paulo held a press conference in anticipation of the event and confirmed that a request has been made to move the race back to November 14. The request has been explained by the need to hold race event on the weekend of a national holiday, with November 15 Brazil’s Republic Day.
“If this request is accepted, for us, the inflow of revenue in the city and in the state increases a lot,” said Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria. “We may have an expansion of 25 per cent in the Formula 1 revenue in Sao Paulo.”
It was also outlined that fan capacity of 100 per cent, depending on the rate of vaccination, can be achieved. However there remain hurdles to the current situation owing to the ongoing nature of the pandemic.
Brazil is one of three prospective Formula 1 venues – along with Turkey (October 3) and Mexico (October 31) – that remain on the United Kingdom’s red list.
That would mean all UK-based personnel – which is a large portion of the paddock – would have to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine upon return, assuming current protocols remain in place.
Japan’s status remains uncertain owing to the country’s tight entry restrictions, though it recently held the Olympics, while the Paralympics are due to begin next week.
If Formula 1 does receive the green light to visit Japan then it will do so under tight guidelines akin to last year’s Abu Dhabi round, with charter flights and security at hotel to maintain a biosphere. Japan’s presence is currently crucial to Turkey’s round; heading straight to Japan, where the 10-day cut-off can be fulfilled, avoids the need to quarantine in hotels upon return to the UK.
Discussions have been held over a potential second event in the USA, at the Circuit of the Americas, though the situation in nearby Austin has deteriorated.
Several cultural events in Austin have been postponed in recent days due to a surge in cases that has stretched medical resources, with data on Monday suggesting only one ICU bed remains unoccupied in the region.
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