Formula 1 Ready to Bring Calendar Changes If Coronavirus in China Persists

Formula 1 is intently checking the coronavirus flare-up in China and will alter its race schedule if fundamental, in the midst of developing worry about the spread of the infection.

Wuhan, the city where the virus was first reported, has lost Olympic boxing qualifiers to Amman, Jordan, and the women’s football qualifying tournament first to Nanjing and now to Sydney.

International games are in the process of rescheduling. Olympic qualifying competitions in soccer, basketball, and boxing have been taken somewhere else. The most recent crossing out on Thursday was equestrian’s Asia Horse Week. The schedule was from February 13-16 in Hong Kong.

As a result of the infection, in excess of 250 passings in China have been recorded. The deadly novel coronavirus has so far spread to at least 22 countries, including Germany, Australia, and the United States.

It is cutting rail joins with territory China as a precautionary measure to constrain the infection spreading. Tokyo 2020 wrestling qualification is another doubt. On March 27-29, the event will take place in Xi’an.

On Wednesday, the indoor athletics world championships were delayed by one year to March 2021. The first alpine ski World Cup races one month from now at one of the 2022 Beijing Olympics courses in Yanqing will be rescheduled.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2019 Shanghai Grand Prix.

Formula 1 will alter calendar if needed

The Formula 1 race in Shanghai is in danger of being deferred or dropped. It might take place on April 19.

Before that, the FIA is responsible for a race of the all-electric Formula E series in Sanya on 21 March. Shanghai is about 800km from the center of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, while Sanya is 1800km away.

A Formula E spokesperson told Motorsportweek that their Sanya race on March 21 is going ahead as planned in a statement made following the GMAC’s cancellation of the Changbaishan rally.

“As it stands, the race in Sanya on March 21 is still scheduled to go ahead as planned. The uncertainty stemmed from an incorrect statement issued locally in China, which published wrong and misleading information and has since been removed.”

The arrangement’s overseeing body said in an announcement Thursday “will evaluate the calendar of its forthcoming races” under the supervision of therapeutic commission president Gérard Saillant and, if vital, “take any action required to help protect the global motorsport community and the wider public.”

The last Formula 1 race that had been dropped was in 2011 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. It happened due to uprising and rough fights.

The primary race of 2020 is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15. Trailed by the Bahrain GP in Sakhir one-week later, and the debut Vietnam Grand Prix in Hanoi on April 5.

There is a flurry of upcoming international games in China. If the FIA goes-ahead with its plan to reschedule or drop the Shanghai Grand Prix this year, the fans will surely be disheartened.

With the increase in the number of cases of infections, the number of affected events will show an increase.