Austria to host double-header in F1 2021 after Turkey postponement

F1 had planned to return to Istanbul Park for a second successive season after the Canadian Grand Prix was cancelled as a result of Canada’s strict COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine measures for arrivals into the country.

Doubts over Turkey’s place on this year’s calendar increased after the UK Government placed the country on its red list.

It isn’t just F1 that has been affected as the UEFA Champions League final was set to take place in Istanbul, but has since been moved to Portugal.

With Austria now hosting back-to-back races, as it did in 2020, the French GP has been moved back a week.

The French GP will now take place on June 18-10, rather than June 25-27 as originally planned - followed by two events in Austria.

The first event in Austria will be known as the Styrian Grand Prix, and it will take place on June 25-27.

The Austrian GP keeps its spot of July 2-4 - making it a triple-header.

Speaking of the announcement, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “We were all looking forward to racing in Turkey but the travel restrictions in place have meant we are not able to be there in June. Formula 1 has shown again that it is able to react quickly to developments and find solutions and we are delighted that we will have a doubleheader in Austria meaning our season remains at 23 races.

“I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for all of their efforts in recent weeks and want to thank the promoters in France and Austria for their speed, flexibility and enthusiasm in accommodating this solution. We have had very good conversations will all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”

Revised 2021 F1 calendar:

Monaco - May 23

Azerbaijan - June 6

France - June 20

Austria - June 27

Styria - July 4

Great Britain - July 18

Hungary - August 1