With the disruption to the order of running, lots of changes have had to be made later on in the year to accommodate. With Imola being drafted in as the replacement for China on the calendar, there are also rumours that Portimao will be announced shortly as the third spot on the F1 schedule which is currently labelled as ‘TBC’. The historic circuit was used as a temporary venue last year after the heavy calendar disruption, but not many of us expected that we would be returning quite so soon. F1 will be heading back to Imola, or the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as it is officially known, for the second race of the season in April. It seems very much like deja vu, as just 11 months ago we received the same news that the Chinese Grand Prix had been postponed as a result of the “novel coronavirus outbreak.” It never made its way back on to the calendar for 2020, but there are hopes that they can find a solution later this year. There had been doubts about the future of the Chinese Grand Prix too, with China experiencing a fresh outbreak of coronavirus cases over the past few weeks.į1 confirmed today that the Chinese Grand Prix had been postponed, with no fixed date given for when it would return to the calendar. This could create quite a problem, especially as testing has already been reduced by three days for 2021. However, by decreasing the days between the test and the first race, teams won’t have long to implement changes on their car before the season starts. The suggestion that the test could be moved to the first race’s location makes logistical sense, but the pre-season test would need to have the date changed, so there isn’t such a large time gap between the two events. The dates for this test are not yet known but were predicted to be in early March. F1 has not yet confirmed this but it is believed the testing will occur between the 12th and the 14th of March. It is also understood that the F1 pre-season test, originally scheduled to occur at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, will now also be relocated to the Bahrain International Circuit to minimise the amount of travel from the F1 circus. The date for the Grand Prix has not changed, meaning the season will get underway on the 28th of March. It will be the first time Bahrain has started an F1 season since the 2010 season. Instead of racing around Melbourne’s streets, Bahrain will take on the responsibility of holding the first race of 2021. Speaking to Reuters, Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll said that all F1 teams and new F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, had met virtually to decide on the calendar changes last week. With strict quarantine restrictions and the need to start construction for the street circuit any day now, the decision was made to move the event to a later date – something which has meant a further reshuffling of races. The event has been rescheduled to a date in November. With growing speculation over the future of the first few races of the 2021 season, it has now been confirmed that the Australian Grand Prix will not be kicking off the F1 season at the end of March as expected.į1 announced that the race weekend couldn’t run under the current circumstances related to the COVID-19 outbreak in an official statement. All these changes mean Bahrain will host the season-opener for the first time since 2010. With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.F1 have announced several calendar changes as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, including a new date for the Australian Grand Prix, the postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix and the return of Imola to name just a few.
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