Turkey replaces Canada on Formula One calendar with Montreal race cancelled for second year in a row
ByReuters
Published 28/04/2021 at 16:43 GMT
The race had been scheduled for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the weekend after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Turkey's Istanbul circuit will be logistically convenient for air freight coming from Baku. The Turkish race returned last year for the first time since 2011 and also at short notice to bolster a calendar ravaged by the pandemic
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - GP of Turkey 2020
Image credit: Getty Images
Turkey will replace Canada on this year's Formula One calendar after the June 13 race in Montreal was cancelled on Wednesday for the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Formula One said it had extended Montreal's contract by two years to take into account the cancellations, securing the race until 2031.
The race had been scheduled for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the weekend after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and Turkey's Istanbul circuit will be logistically convenient for air freight coming from Baku.
The Turkish race returned last year for the first time since 2011 and also at short notice to bolster a calendar ravaged by the pandemic.
"Due to the ongoing international travel restrictions in place in Canada it became impossible for Formula One to enter the country without a mandatory 14-day quarantine," the sport said in a statement.
Formula One has operated in a bubble, with teams and staff regularly tested and many vaccinated while races have been held behind closed doors.
Formula One said more than 78,000 Covid-19 tests conducted last season produced only 78 positive results. There have been more than 12,000 tests this season with 14 positives.
"I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Canada for all of their efforts in recent weeks but the travel situation made our plans impossible," said chief executive Stefano Domenicali.
"I equally want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for their ongoing willingness to host a Formula One race that shows the huge interest in our sport and the hope from many locations to have a Grand Prix."
Last year's wet and slippery grand prix at Istanbul Park was held in November and produced one of the highlights of the season, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton clinching his record-equalling seventh world title.
Formula One said it would work with the Canadian promoter to refund or transfer tickets.
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