Formula 1 cancels Mexico Grand Prix due to COVID-19

This year, there will not be Formula 1 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Formula 1 to abandon several Grand Prix that would taker place this year, including the one in Mexico City.

After five F1 uninterrupted years, Mexico, along with the United States, Canada, and Brazil, will not be able to hold its Grand Prix.

Formula 1 said the decision was “due to the fluid nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local restrictions and the importance of keeping communities and our colleagues safe”, and had been made after ongoing discussions and close collaboration with the respective partners in the affected countries.

Instead, Formula 1 announced on Friday it will hold new races in Portimao, Imola, and Nurburgring.

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The Mexico Grand Prix had been named the best of the season, with an average of 320,000 fans every weekend in Magdalena Mixhuca. In 2018, there was an economic revenue worth MXN $7.7 billion.

The organizers asserted tickets will be refunded but they will also be valid for the 2021 GP.

Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1 , said that he looked forward to welcoming the races back to the schedule in 2021: “We want to pay tribute to our incredible partners in the Americas and look forward to being back with them next season when they will once again be able to thrill millions of fans around the world,” he said.

Mexico’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was turned into a Social Security hospital after the government celebrated a contract that states December 31 as the time limit for using the facilities or “until the epidemiological model allows us to resume our normal activities,” said Zoè Robledo, the IMSS general director yesterday.

To date, COVID-19 has caused over 41,000 deaths in the country.

Last October, Formula 1 announced its tentative schedule for the 2020 World Championship, which would have a record number of 22 races after the incorporation of the Vietnam GP and the Dutch GP, as well as the elimination of the German Grand Prix.

The schedule for the 70th edition of the World Championship was set to begin on March 15 with the Australian GP and conclude on November 29th with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Mexican GP would have taken place on November 1, 2020.

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