The third race in Formula 1’s early fall tripleheader has been axed. Following discussions between the sport and the Japanese government, the decision was taken to cancel the race for the second year in a row.
The event, intended to take place on October 10, would have followed the Russian Grand Prix and the Turkish Grand Prix as part of a tripleheader. Formula 1 says that it’s working on the details of a revised calendar that will likely include a replacement race, though not necessarily on the same weekend.
“Formula 1 has proven this year, and in 2020, that we can adapt and find solutions to the ongoing uncertainties and is excited by the level of interest in locations to host Formula 1 events this year and beyond,” the sport’s management wrote in a release.
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Indeed, the Chinese and Australian Grands Prix have already been canceled this year. The Turkish Grand Prix, too, was first cancelled, then moved to October, with concessions for these changes found in the form of a France-Austria-Austria triple-header. Motorsport.com reports that one of the options on the table for F1 is another repeat Grand Prix. In this case, that would mean a second race in Bahrain.
The issue F1 is now facing, though, is that Turkey is on the U.K.’s red list and anyone returning from there has to spend 10 days in quarantine. The sport has more than a thousand U.K.-based personnel, so the hope was to largely avoid the issue by using Japan as an intermediary.
With the country experiencing a surge in COVID cases following the unpopular Olympics, Japan chose to shut down the Grand Prix despite promises that F1 would charter private flights from Istanbul, get everyone tested on the way in, and only travel between the circuit and hotels.
