Canadian GP about to be canceled?

Will the Canadian Grand Prix scheduled for June 11 to 13 be canceled for a second consecutive year because of the Covid-19 pandemic? The situation remains confused in view of the latest developments across the Atlantic.  

Thursday, Radio Canada reported that the event would not take place in an article which has since been corrected and updated, against a backdrop of differences of opinion between public health in Montreal and that of Quebec. 

The first authority considers that the race cannot take place, including behind closed doors, because it would involve the arrival from abroad of some 2500 people, knowing in addition that the paddock will have pitched its marquee in Baku (Azerbaijan ) The week before. 

The second instance considers it possible to organize the event within a strict health framework. The federal government has not yet made a decision, particularly regarding the quarantine rules currently in force in Canada and the possibility of granting exemptions to staff F1. 
 
« For the event to be held behind closed doors, there is a way to do so in terms of public health with well-advised protocols, declared last Tuesday Dr. Horacio Arruda, the national director of public health of Quebec, in comments reported by Radio Canada. 

As for the importation of the virus by people who come from outside without quarantines, these are discussions taking place between Quebec and Canada. There are analyzes and assessments that will be made on the risks ». 

Since the start of the 2020 season, F1 has been used to operating in a more or less strict health bubble, itself divided into subsets to limit contact and the risks of triggering an epidemic outbreak. 

The most significant constraints were introduced during the last GP of the season in Abu Dhabi where the entire great F1 circus was transported by charter plane directly from Bahrain. Yas Island, the complex where the Emirati route is located, had also been completely closed to the public. 

F1 has tried to praise the merits of its health protocol to the Canadian authorities (hotels reserved exclusively for staff, private transport, etc.) but reproducing the Abu Dhabi model in a large city like Montreal is not an option. easy. 

• Turkey in line

Beyond the public health issues, essential and naturally priority, that the maintenance of the 2021 Canadian GP raises, financial considerations must also be taken into account. Organizing the event behind closed doors would indeed result in a substantial shortfall that would have to be made up, all in a gloomy economic climate.

Some are therefore concerned about the consequences of a second cancellation in a row on the sustainability of the event, which has a contract until 2029 with F1. 

« Discussions with the Canadian GP promoter continue and we will not comment further on the situation at this time. », Said an F1 spokesperson. 

Contacted by AUTOhebdo, the Canadian GP organization sent us the following statement: “ We have not received confirmation from our official public health representatives and will not comment until we have official confirmation ».

If the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve were to hand over again, two potential replacements are in the running: Istanbul Park (Turkey) and Hockenheim (Germany). 

The first, which seems to hold the rope, made a welcome return to the calendar last November and has the advantage of being geographically close to Baku, thus greatly simplifying paddock logistics. The second candidate, for his part, would like to ride the wave Mick Schumacher (Haas), subject to the public being allowed at sporting events in Germany in mid-June.