On the heels of the Australian GP cancellation, officials announced that neither Bahrain nor Viet Nam would be held as scheduled.
On Friday, the Formula 1 racing world had to face the reality that COVID-19 had caused officials to cancel this year’s Australian Grand Prix. Then, within hours, news came that two more races–those that were to have immediately followed the Australian GP–won’t be run as scheduled, either.
The Grand Prix of Bahrain, which was to have been run at night next weekend and without spectators, now won’t take place as scheduled. The 1st annual Vietnamese Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for April 5th, also won’t take place on that date.
With the circuit’s fourth race– the Chinese Grand Prix–already have been taken off the schedule, those four cancelations mean that the start of the season will shift to Europe at a time when the World Health Organization says Europe is the epicenter of the worldwide outbreak.
For now, at least, that F1 season will begin on May 5th with the Dutch Grand Prix, which is scheduled to be held for the first time in three decades at the legendary Zandvoort circuit. If the season doesn’t begin on that weekend, attention will shift to May 10 and the Spanish Grand Prix, which is scheduled for the Circuit de Catalunya. If neither race is a go, then the season start will be deferred to the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. The legendary Monaco Grand Prix will take place over that weekend, on the 24th of May, specifically.
And it will be a strange historical coincidence is that happens. Back in the 1960s, Monaco was the opening round of the Formula 1 world championship season. It was during a time when the series included as many as eight races, s far fewer than we have today. Of course, the world and the sport has changed a lot since then.
The fear, of course, is that 2020 might be a year without Formula 1 racing altogether.
F1’s Chase Carey (photo, Autosport)
But Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey believes that there’s not only good reason to suspend the first few races, but that there’s also hope the postponed races can be run later in the year.
“The global situation regarding COVID-19 is fluid and very difficult to predict,” Carey said. “The Bahrain Grand Prix is an exciting race in our schedule, and we look forward to being back there as soon as we can. We are also looking forward to Vietnam’s inaugural race, bringing the spectacle of F1 to one of the most exciting cities in the world.”
If the word ‘postponed’ applies, the sport will have to figure out how to fit rescheduled races into a compressed time frame. Several races could be reinstated during the sport’s summer break. With that in mind, it might be possible to run the race in the Netherlands immediately before the Belgium GP, which is scheduled for the end of August. But it’s a more difficult call for Spain, which must also renew its GP contract for 2021.
The bottom line, of course, is that the sport is in a wait-and-see situation, not unlike other professional sports around the world.
For now, at least, the scoreboard reads: COVID-19 4, Formula 1 0.
