The Japanese Grand Prix is set to become the latest event to be cancelled amid a surge in COVID cases. As reported by Racer.com, the Suzuka event will be officially cancelled in the coming days and will not take place in 2021 Formula 1 season either.
Formula 1 was so keen to get back to a normal season this year, but it didn’t actually work out that way. At the start of the season 23 races were scheduled, but in the meantime a lot has changed in the calendar. Japan will almost certainly be the next change, but possibly not the last.
Japan is dropped
The Grand Prix at Suzuka was supposed to be held in Japan on 10 October after the Olympic and Paralympic Games were already organised there. However, in recent months the number of corona attacks has increased significantly, and a state of emergency has even been declared in some parts of the country.
While the organizers of the GP initially still had hopes for a Grand Prix this year, Racer.com has learned that the chance of this has completely disappeared. The race will reportedly be cancelled within days. With Formula 1’s goal of maintaining a calendar of 23 races, Stefano Domencali will have to look for a replacement for this race as well.
A race in Japan would have been also a way to reduce the quarantine time after the Turkish GP (Turkey is still on UK‘s red list…) Another race (as a replacement for the Japanese GP) in the USA is logistically not possible during that time [quarantine would only end on 13 Oct.]
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