Dutch, Spanish Grands Prix postponed - Monaco cancelled

Formula 1

Dutch, Spanish Grands Prix postponed - Monaco cancelled

Trio of races now added to calendar congestion for later this year

Ian Parkes

Thursday 19 March 2020 16:23 Updated: 19:08

The Dutch and Spanish Grands Prix have been postponed while the Monaco Grand Prix has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Following discussions with the promoters of all three races, Formula 1 has taken the decision to put on hold or cancel the trio of May events.

It follows the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, and the additional postponements of the grands prix in Bahrain, Vietnam and China.

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An initial statement from F1 read: "In view of the continued global spread of COVID-19 and after ongoing discussions with Formula 1 and the three promoters, it has today been confirmed that the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix 2020, Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix 2020 and Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2020 will be postponed.

"Due to the ongoing and fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally, the FIA, Formula 1 and the three promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains our primary concern.

"The FIA and Formula 1 continue to work closely with affected promoters and local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each grand prix later in the year should the situation improve.

"The FIA and Formula 1 expect to begin the 2020 Championship season as soon as it is safe to do so after May and will continue to regularly monitor the ongoing COVID-19 situation."

However, a later press release from the Automobile Club de Monaco confirmed that the race would not be rescheduled.

"The current situation concerning the worldwide pandemic and its unknown path of evolution, the lack of understanding as to the impact on the FIA F1 World Championship 2020, the uncertainty with regards to the participation of the teams, the consequences with regards to the differing measures of confinement as taken by various governments worldwide, the multi-border restrictions for accessing the Principality of Monaco, the pressure on all implicated businesses, their dedicated staff who are unable to undertake the necessary installations, the availability of the indispensable workforce and volunteers (more than 1500) required for the success of the event means that the situation is no longer tenable.

"As a result, and after careful consideration as to the gravity of this crisis worldwide, it is with great sadness that the AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE MONACO Board of Directors has taken the decision to cancel the 12th GRAND PRIX DE MONACO HISTORIQUE (8-10 May 2020) and the 78th GRAND PRIX DE MONACO FORMULA 1, FIA World Championship (21-24 May 2020)."

Following a teleconference meeting of F1 CEO Chase Carey, managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn, FIA president Jean Todt and the 10 team principals, GPFans understands there is a willingness on all sides to be as flexible as is reasonably possible with the calendar.

Due to the uncertainty as to when the season could potentially start, no suggestion is as yet off the table, which includes pushing the campaign into December, and even January, which in turn would delay the start to the 2021 season.