Not Shangai, but rather Jerez de la Frontera will be the first to get to opportunity to host a Formula 1 event in 2022 if one of the stages already planned will not be able to eventually organize the race. The calendar for next season has already been announced, and for the third consecutive year we will not see the Shanghai race. It was to be assumed that China would at least be the first reserve, but it does not seem so. Instead, the Jerez de la Frontera circuit is a candidate to occupy a slot in 2022 in case one becomes free, as confirmed by regional tourism minister Juan Marin, on the occasion of the World Travel Market fair that is being held these days in London.
The words of the Vice President of the Andalusian Government and councilor of the “Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration” were reported by the Spanish news agency EFE. “We are the number one reserve. In the moment in which a stage would withdraw, we could insert ourselves”. A news that surprised many people, although it should be remembered that its presence in 2020 (in full emergency) had been a hypothesis taken into consideration.
Beyond the possibilities, Juan Marin also spoke of the need to renew the track and of the fact that the Community has given its willingness to do so to ensure that it is possible to obtain the FIA license with “Grade 1”, and to be able to organize a Grand Prix. The investment would range between three and five million euros that would be obtained from European funds and private initiatives.
The Andalusian track is firmly within the calendar of MotoGP World Championship and in the past it had already been involved in Formula 1, organizing five Spanish GPs between 1986 and 1990 and two European GPs in 1994 and 1997. The last time an official session was held was in 2015 for the pre-season tests. This is not to say that the teams have never set foot there, for example this is where Ferrari tested the 18-inch Pirellis in February.
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