COVID-19: Turkish GP cancelled, Formula 1 adds second race in Austria
May 14, 2021
Paris [France], May 14 : Formula 1 on Friday confirmed that the Turkish Grand Prix, which had replaced Grand Prix Du Canada 2021, has been cancelled due to the new COVID-19 travel restrictions.
As a result, French Grand Prix will move a week earlier while a second race in Austria - the Styrian Grand Prix has been added to the calendar for June 25-27.
According to Formula 1, the changes mean, there continue to be 23 races planned for the 2021 season.
That creates a new France-Styria-Austria triple header, with the Austrian Grand Prix staying in its original July 2-4 slot.
"We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to be there in June," said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, in a statement.
"Formula 1 has shown again that it is able to react quickly to developments and find solutions and we are delighted that we will have a double header in Austria meaning our season remains at 23 races," Domenicali said.
"I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for all of their efforts in recent weeks and want to thank the promoters in France and Austria for their speed, flexibility and enthusiasm in accommodating this solution. We have had very good conversations will all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period."
The statement added that the promoter in Turkey has requested that Formula 1 look at the potential opportunity for the race in Istanbul to be rescheduled later in the season if possible, alongside China who made the same request earlier this year.
