The organisers of the 2020 Canadian Grand Prix- scheduled for June 12-14 – have announced the postponement of the race amid the ongoing global coronavirus outbreak.
The news comes after Formula 1’s rulemakers have approved a motion to extend the shutdown period by a further two weeks and F1 are working with promoters on a revised 2020 calendar with the actual sequence and schedule dates for races likely to differ significantly from the original 2020 calendar.
In a statement, the Canadian promoters said they ‘would have been honoured to host the first race on the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship calendar’ and that they were ‘saddened’ to have to postpone the race.
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“We have been working closely with our friends at the Canadian Grand Prix over the past few weeks and support them in taking this necessary decision to ensure the safety of fans and the F1 community. We always look forward to travelling to the incredible city of Montreal and while we will all have to wait a bit longer, we will put on a great show when we arrive later this year.” said Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1.
All tickets for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix 2020 will continue to be valid. As soon as the new date of the Grand Prix is confirmed, all spectators will be informed of the available options.
The pandemic has affected the entire season opening and the races that followed- Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Netherlands, Spain, Monaco and Azerbaijan.
The COVID-19 pandemic has till now claimed more than 80,000 lives globally as the number of confirmed cases crossed 1.4 million.