PARIS – Formula One officials have announced that because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, the planned race in Turkey on June 11-13 has been canceled.
The race in Turkey originally replaced the planned Canadian Grand Prix, which was also scrapped due to COVID-19 restrictions.
That weekend will now be open on the schedule, with the French Grand Prix moving a week earlier than originally planned to June 18-20 and a second race in Austria – the Styrian Grand Prix – added to the calendar on June 25-27.
That creates a new France-Styria-Austria triple header, with the Austrian Grand Prix staying in its original July 2-4 slot. All tickets to the French Grand Prix are valid for the earlier date.
The changes mean there continues to be 23 races planned during the Formula One season.
“We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to be there in June,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula One, in a statement.
“Formula One has shown again that it is able to react quickly to developments and find solutions and we are delighted that we will have a double header in Austria meaning our season remains at 23 races.
“I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for all of their efforts in recent weeks and want to thank the promoters in France and Austria for their speed, flexibility and enthusiasm in accommodating this solution. We have had very good conversations will all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”