The more days go by, the more unlikely it is for the Chinese Grand Prix to remain on the calendar for the 2023 Formula 1 season. The Shanghai track seems afflicted by a curse that would keep it away from Formula 1 for the fourth consecutive year, always for the same reason: the Coronavirus restrictions.
One country in particular is very interested in developments: Portugal. Portimão is in fact one of the favourites to replace Shanghai should the exclusion from the 2023 Formula One calendar be made official in the next few weeks. This is confirmed by Portuguese sources according to which the decision is imminent: they are still waiting to solve some small details, which however they should be in place by 9 December, when the next meeting of the FIA’s World Motorsport Council is scheduled.
If in the rest of the world the pandemic has decreased in strength also thanks to vaccines, to the point that the restrictive measures have weakened considerably and life has resumed in a way closer to what we were accustomed to before COVID-19, in China the social situation has been managed in a different way by the government which wanted to pursue the “zero Covid” utopia. Something not only impossible, but which last weekend caused vibrant social protests and is the offspring of an old mentality that also reverberated on the choice to adopt national vaccines instead of those used in the West, which have significantly reduced the deadly consequences of the pandemic.
China reported 36,061 Covid cases on Wednesday, a slight drop on Tuesday’s 37,828.
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On Thursday, 24 districts in Shanghai designated as “high risk” were released from lockdown measures, state media informed. It followed the easing of lockdowns across 11 districts in Guangzhou on Wednesday, despite the fact that both locations reported an increased number of cases. The lifting of lockdowns suggested an easing of the stringent measures which protesters had rallied against. However, while it could be the first sign that grievances have been heard, authorities are showing no tolerance for protests and are continuing to track down and sometimes detain people who demonstrated.
Motorsport Commentator Joao Carlos Costa posted on Twitter that “Portugal once again is in Formula1’s path. Imminent decision – Portimão should replace China in 2023’s calendar. Small details missing, to be resolved before FIA’s World Council, on the 9th of December, in Bologna. Portuguese fans, what a Christmas present!”
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