F1 officials confirmed that the Chinese Grand Prix could not be resumed this year, and the 2023 season was reduced to 23 races
Before the New Year, Motorsport Chinese.com exclusively reported that with the challenge of the domestic new crown epidemic prevention policy, that is, the lifting of the quarantine measures from January 8, the Chinese Grand Prix immediately held internal consultations to try to find the possibility of having F1 held in Shanghai in April.
After the New Year's Day holiday, the relevant departments and agencies in Shanghai reached a consensus to welcome the Chinese Grand Prix back to the Shanghai International Circuit. However, due to the holiday on the British side, it was not until last week that formal consultations with F1 took place.
The last time the Chinese Grand Prix was held was the 1,000th race in F1 in 2019. In December last year, due to the unclear development of the epidemic situation in China at that time, F1 removed the Chinese Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April 16, from the 2023 calendar. While both sides are hoping to get the Grand Prix back to Shanghai as soon as possible, especially to witness Zhou's first home race, unpredictable realities still set obstacles in the way of return.
On the one hand, if the tournament is to be held in April, the sea freight materials must be shipped out at the end of January and the beginning of January at the latest. Considering the logistical work involving all fleets, the time was very tight. In addition, the travel arrangements for the team's personnel in the previous races have been basically implemented, and it is difficult to change the itinerary at short notice.
On the other hand, the domestic new crown epidemic prevention has entered a new stage, in addition to providing a 48-hour nucleic acid negative certificate before departure, passengers no longer need to undergo a new crown nucleic acid test after arriving at the Chinese mainland, and there is no need to isolate even if infection occurs, which means that the fleet does not need to worry about the potential problem of accidental attrition, however, including the United Kingdom (the base of seven teams), Italy (Ferrari and AlphaTauri), France (Renault power unit) require passengers from China to take a nucleic acid test after arrival. This caused problems for the participants on their way home.
These factors make it difficult for F1 to return to China in April for the 2023 season. The second half of the season is very tight, and unless there is a temporary cancellation of the event, it will be difficult to install one more game.
It is reported that the Shanghai side had already considered when negotiating relevant matters, and if everything went well, the invoice would be issued in early March. Although this result is undoubtedly very disappointing for Chinese fans, it is no surprise that 2024 will witness the re-holding of the Chinese Grand Prix.
The original 2023 calendar consisted of 24 matches. After a weekend vacated in April, F1 had also hoped for a race to fill the void, while Portugal's Portimão, who had substituted for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, has expressed interest. However, it is understandable that the previous contract between the Chinese Grand Prix and F1 extends until 2025, and if the corresponding race date is replaced by another event, F1 needs to refund the hosting fee already received.
So according to this latest statement, the 2023 season will be reduced to 23 games, and all match dates will not change. This means there will be a four-week gap between the two Grands Prix in Australia and Azerbaijan, but starting with that week in Baku, there will be five races over a six-week period.