What has been indicated for weeks is now certain: China will not host a Formula 1 race in 2023 either. The premier class of motorsport is removing the Grand Prix in Shanghai from the calendar due to the restrictive corona measures. An alternative location is already being discussed.
For the fourth year in a row, Formula 1 will avoid the important market of China due to the corona pandemic. The motorsport premier class announced that the Grand Prix will not take place in 2023 either “due to the ongoing difficulties related to Covid-19”. Discussions with the promoter and the responsible authorities led to this decision.
Replacement candidates for the canceled race, which has currently decimated the planned 24-stage record calendar, are already being examined. There will be an update on this in due course. Portimao is considered a candidate. The Portuguese course in the Algarve had already hosted a replacement race in 2020 and 2021. Istanbul is also mentioned. Formula 1 also found an alternative route there in 2020 and 2021 after years of absence.
Even if no replacement is found for the race in Shanghai, which was to take place on April 16 as the fourth round of the season, the Formula 1 calendar for the coming year would include 23 races, more than ever before. The return to Shanghai has been delayed once again, the contract with the Chinese organizer is valid until 2025. World Championship points were contested there for the first time in 2004, and for the last time in 2019. Since then, the events have been canceled due to the pandemic.
The BBC recently reported that the crucial point is that no exceptions to the quarantine rules are made for F1 employees in the event of a corona infection. Formula 1 is of the opinion that the teams cannot be expected to take the risk that employees could be detained for days.
The cancellation had therefore become apparent in the past few weeks. The government in Beijing is pursuing a zero-Covid strategy, which on the one hand has not been successful recently. On the other hand, there is growing resistance among the population to the sealing off of entire cities in the event of minor corona outbreaks.
