Chinese Grand Prix will not be replaced on 2023 F1 calendar

The China Grand Prix will definitely not be replaced. Formula One confirmed today in a press release that the 2023 calendar will be reduced to 23 races.

The China Grand Prix, scheduled for 16 April 2023, was cancelled in early December due to China's strict Covid policy. The decisive factor would have been that Formula 1 teams could not get an exception to the quarantine rules in China. This would therefore mean that the teams could appear at the circuit with less manpower. According to Formula 1, this was not feasible and so the race was cancelled.

The cancellation of the race meant there was a four-week gap between the Australian Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. There were candidates to fill that gap: both Turkey and Portugal expressed interest in hosting a race. However, it soon became clear that the Portimao circuit was not available on the desired date.

So indeed, that gap will now not be filled. Formula 1 did not further explain the choice. Earlier, rumours surf aced that the Chinese Grand Prix might take place after all, but those rumours are now also definitely off the table. The last time a Grand Prix was held in China was in 2019, before the corona pandemic broke out. In 2021, the contract for the Chinese Grand Prix was still extended until 2025.