F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Postponed; Chances Bleak for Season Starting Before July

The 2020 Formula 1 season continues to be decimated by the worldwide COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, race organizers of the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix said that their race scheduled for June 7 has been postponed. That race was thought to be the first possible race to actually take place after seven previous cancellations.

For the record, F1 Grands Prix is Australia and Monaco have been canceled. For now anyway, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, China, Vietnam, Spain and Bahrain have been postponed. No makeup dates have been announced for any of the postponed races.

With the first eight races (there were originally 21 races on the 2020 schedule) currently off the table, the next scheduled race would be the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on June 14. However, with sporting officials in Canada announcing on March 22 that it would be pulling out of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9 it appears highly unlikely that Canadian officials would greenlight a Formula 1 race scheduled one month earlier.

That would make the first race of the season, on paper anyway, the F1 French Grand Prix on June 28. The race in France is also is serious jeopardy, as the French parliament on Monday extended a “health state of emergency” for that country through May.

Below is the official release regarding the Azerbaijan race:

“Baku City Circuit (BCC) has today taken the decision to postpone the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2020 due to take place on 7 June.

“BCC’s primary concern throughout has been the health and well being of the Azerbaijani people as well as all visiting F1 fans, staff and championship participants.

“The thoughts of everyone at Baku City Circuit during this challenging and unprecedented situation go out to all those directly and indirectly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We wish to thank all our supporters, customers and partners for your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back to Baku later in the year.”

Source: Read Full Article