Turkey drops off calendar, Austria gets second race
- 3 years ago
The French race at Le Castellet will now be on Jun 20, kicking off a "triple header" of three grands prix on successive weekends, the Liberty Media-owned sport said in a statement on Friday (May 14).
The Red Bull Ring will host the newly-inserted Styrian Grand Prix on Jun 27 and the Austrian Grand Prix on its original Jul 4 date.
"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 Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
"Formula One 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."
Turkey's Istanbul Park circuit had been added to the calendar only last month to replace the cancelled Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on Jun 13.
Its removal comes a day after the Champions League football final between English sides Chelsea and Manchester City was switched from Istanbul to Portugal.
Turkey was last week put on Britain's travel "red list", creating a problem for Formula One with seven of the 10 teams based in England.
The red list designation means travel to Turkey is allowed only in "the most extreme circumstances" and anyone returning has to pay for compulsory hotel quarantine.
Source: CNA
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