UPDATE | More sources report postponement of Australian Grand Prix
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The Australian Grand Prix will once again be first on the calendar in 2021, but it is very doubtful whether this race will go ahead. According to Michael Schmidt, the event in Melbourne is in jeopardy.
The 2020 Formula 1 season was supposed to start in Australia as had been customary in recent years, but it was cancelled at the last minute due to the coronavirus. A complete F1 calendar for 2021 has again been drawn up with the race in Melbourne as the first event, but the question is whether it can go ahead.
Surely no start in Australia?
According to Michael Schmidt, from the generally well-informed Auto, Motor und Sport, the organisation has doubts whether the race should go ahead. ''At the moment it is very difficult to enter Australia and from what I hear, Melbourne wants another date on the calendar and the season would start in Bahrain,'' says the journalist and a video from AMuS.
So the opening of the season is in jeopardy, after the same thing happened in 2020. ''From what we hear, that start is in jeopardy. The organisation does not want to take the risk of already building the circuit, which costs money, and then having to cancel the race the week before because the government says so,'' concludes Schmidt.
Update 2-1-2021 | Rumours about postponement of GP become more intense
After Auto, Motor und Sport already reported at the end of 2020 that the Australian Grand Prix might not be able to go ahead, RaceFans.net also reports the possibility of postponement. According to the British medium, the team personnel must first be quarantined for a fortnight on arrival, or, as in Abu Dhabi, a 'biosphere' should be created.
Because Albert Park is a street circuit, the decision to continue or move the race must be made quickly. Normally the construction of the circuit starts at the end of January. Should the race be postponed, it will probably be moved to the second half of the season.
Update 04-01-2021 | More sources report postponement GP Australia
The Grand Prix of Australia is in jeopardy. After Auto, Motor und Sport and also Racefans.net had previously announced that the GP in Melbourne might be postponed, there is now a bigger problem for Australia, according to Motorsport.com. It is still possible that the GP will take place and the Australian Open (tennis tournament in Australia) will be a good indicator for the continuation of the Australian GP.