Report: Chinese Grand Prix gets the red flag, shortening the 24-race F1 schedule for the 2023 season

Report: Chinese Grand Prix gets the red flag, shortening the 24-race F1 schedule for the 2023 season

Chinese Grand Prix, Race, Shanghai, China, Sunday 12 April 2015 (IMAGO/ Motorsport Images)

The speculations of thousands of fans all around the world are finally going to come to a conclusion as it is now almost certain that the Chinese Grand Prix will be a no-show for the new 2023 season of Formula 1. With this, what was supposed to be the longest F1 calendar ever with 24 races, will no longer be the same as it has also been reported that no new Grand Prix will replace the Chinese GP. Official confirmation regarding the cancellation of the Asian race is yet to come.

The 2022 season ended with some sad goodbyes to F1 heartthrobs like Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who will not be seen in the paddock next season. But the news mill hardly ever rests as BBC News came out with the report on the Chinese Grand Prix being cancelled, right after the end of the Abu Dhabi GP. This means that Guanyu Zhou, the only Chinese racer who is currently employed under an F1 team, will not get his first home Grand Prix since his debut with Alfa Romeo in 2022.

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The reason behind the Chinese GP being shown the red flag is the heavy Covid-19 restriction that is still in place in China. While the rest of the world has moved on from the horrifying Coronavirus pandemic that caused considerable damage to life and economy all around the globe, China has still maintained all their quarantine rules till date. And as per the predictions, they will not lift any of their restrictions for the Formula 1 Grand Prix which was supposed to take place there during the second weekend of April.

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F1 decides to pull the plug on the Chinese Grand Prix due to unfeasible Covid-19 protocols

Chinese flag being held by the grid girls at the Chinese Grand Prix, Race, Shanghai, China, Sunday 12 April 2015
Chinese flag being held by the grid girls at the Chinese Grand Prix, Race, Shanghai, China, Sunday 12 April 2015 (IMAGO/ Motorsport Images)

As of now, China has shown no signs to withdrawing the Covid-19 restrictions that the government has put in place right from the beginning of the pandemic. F1 Grands Prix could not arrive in the Asian country since 2019 because of the virus outbreak, and it seems that the fans will miss out on the Chinese GP this year as well. According to the protocols, if someone contracts Covid in China, they have to spend 5 days at an isolation centre, and then three more days in home isolation.

It has been decided that F1 employees will not be exempt from China’s Covid policy, and hence the Chinese Grand Prix will be cancelled for this year, pending official confirmation. This is because no race can be held in such unfeasible conditions where the F1 workers might have to go into isolation for eight days, leaving behind a heap of work to finish. Moreover, BBC has also reported that no other Grand Prix will be replacing the Chinese GP, making next year’s calendar 23-races-long.

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