F1 News
F1 must remain flexible: Coronavirus contamination rate rises sharply in Portugal
- GPblog.com
The Formula 1 calendar is anything but fixed. The premier class of motorsport wanted to return to a normal calendar in 2021, but to what extent that will actually be possible remains to be seen.
Flexible F1 calendar
The 2021 Formula One calendar features 23 races, but Stefano Domenicali has already indicated that the sport 'will have to be flexible with the programme because of the fight against the coronavirus'. This statement by the CEO of Formula 1 does not seem completely unjustified. The Australian Grand Prix has already been postponed but more races are in the offing.
Look for example at the Portuguese Grand Prix. The race in Portimao should fill the gap of Vietnam in May, but the question is if this is feasible. The situation in Portugal is very serious. In recent months, the number of people infected has risen sharply, and many more are joining the ranks every day.
Portugal in trouble
According to the worldometers.info count, the increase has been seen since December last year and in January there were almost 10,000 new people infected with the coronavirus every day. Since 20 January, more than 200 people have died every day from the virus and on 31 January there were even 303.
The calendar is therefore far from being fixed. Street races like those in Monaco, Azerbaijan, Singapore and Canada are far from certain. The amount of preparation that goes into them puts an enormous strain on the organisers. If it cannot take place, the losses are enormous. F1 will therefore have to have a number of Grands Prix on the reserve list, just like last year, in order to get a full calendar again.