Shanghai,The organizers of the Formula One World sCompetitions are seeking to establish two phases in Shanghai during this season, which is still awaiting its opening race after the postponement or cancellation of all stages that have been scheduled since mid-March due to the emerging coronavirus.
So far, the decision has been made to cancel seven of the 22 races scheduled for this season, including Australia, Monaco, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Japan and Azerbaijan, and to postpone the races in Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Shanghai, Canada and Russia.
The season is scheduled to start with its revised calendar on the fifth of July with two successive races in Austria, in which the Spielberg Circuit hosts the second stage on July 12, before moving to Hungary on July 19. Britain, then, will also hosts two stages in a row on the second and ninth of August on the Silverstone Circuit.
Shanghai was supposed to host the China Grand Prix on April 19, but the decision was taken to be postponed. Now, it appears that it will follow in the footsteps of Austria and Britain by hosting two races aiming to make up for lost time and try to save the season, according to Xu Bin, director of the Sports Bureau in Shanghai.
He told a local radio channel that the Formula One administration was the one who proposed this matter, explaining, “Everyone knows that Formula One has officially announced that it will resume the season with eight races, all in Europe and none of them in Asia.” He added, “We are still communicating with Formula One to find out what if there is a possibility to host two races in Shanghai, but there is still no final decision.”
“Of course, we must see how the virus is controlled,” he said, at a time when authorities announced in the capital, Beijing, today that it had decided to re-close all sports and cultural centres operating in closed halls in the wake of the renewed infection with Covid-19.
All municipalities should “intensify public space sterilizations and temporarily shut down sports and cultural facilities operating in closed halls,” as well as increase temperature tests and prevent non-residents from entering, municipal official Xu Ying told reporters.
China, where the novel coronavirus first appeared in the world late last year, saw a significant drop in the number of infections and deaths, but it has always warned of the possibility of a new wave.
(ONA)