The Turkish Grand Prix has been reinstated on the 2021 Formula 1 calendar for the second time, as Istanbul Park will replace Singapore, which was called off this month as a result of immigration restrictions.
Turkey was dropped, two weeks after being added as a substitute for Canada, when it was put on the UK’s red list of restricted countries in May.
Formula 1 is confident it can handle travel and return to the UK in the context of the race’s new date of 1-3 October.
The next race scheduled after that is the Japanese Grand Prix the following weekend on 8-10 October.
Authorities in Japan are to wait until after this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo before making a final decision on whether the race in Suzuka can go ahead.
Formula 1 believes its strict Covid protocols will allow it to run an event in Japan in the same manner as the Olympics, which will see over 100,000 people from 200 countries travelling to Japan for the Games, as well as up to 10,000 fans allowed to attend venues.
And the sport’s bosses have been in discussions with the organisers of the races following the Turkish date and are confident F1 personnel will be able to travel onwards to the next event, and back to the UK within permitted timeframes.
F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: “We have had very good conversations with all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”
An F1 statement said: “The Formula 1 community will continue to travel this season with stringent safety measures that have allowed us to travel safely this season. So far this season we have conducted over 44,000 tests with 27 positive cases a rate of 0.06%, with most coming during the earlier part of the season. Alongside this a significant proportion of the F1 community has been vaccinated already and we are confident that all will have had the opportunity to do so by the end of the summer. We will continue to operate in a way that protects the safety of our personnel and the communities we visit.”
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