Formula 1 Cancels 2023 Chinese Grand Prix over Covid Restrictions

Hou Yu_China News Service_Visual China Group via Getty Images
Hou Yu/China News Service/Visual China Group via Getty Images
Jacob Bliss
Washington, DC

Formula 1 has canceled the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix that was scheduled for mid-April next year “due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 situation.”

The announcement was made after the decision “following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities.” The organizing body is “assessing alternative options to replace the slot on the 2023 calendar and will provide an update on this in due course.”

The cancellation comes as China continues to enforce a zero-Covid policy, ultimately leading to heavy restrictions and continued lockdowns.

The zero-Covid policy would ultimately cause unnecessary havoc, forcing the sport to concede it would not be feasible to hold a race that usually attracts large crowds with many employees from each team having to travel through the county.

The race next year would have been the return of the Chinese Grand Prix since the last one in 2019, before the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

The absence of the race now leaves a roughly four-week gap between the Austrian Grand Prix on April 2 in Melbourne and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30 in Baku.

However, Formula 1 is reportedly not desperate to fill the gap since there will still be 23 rounds scheduled, three of which are in the United States.

Regardless, Sky Sports reported that “several interested parties” are looking to fill China’s spot, including Portimao for a Portuguese Grand Prix, which returned to the Formula 1 schedule in 2020 and 2021 but has been initially left off of next year’s schedule.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.

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