The Russian F1 Grand Prix, canceled in February due to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, will not be replaced, the promoter of the F1 world championship announced on Wednesday.
With this announcement, the calendar of the premier category of motorsport returns to 22 races this season – against 23 expected, which would have been a record for F1.
“We had good interest from hosts to replace him, but we had to assess whether it was worth it for the teams and for everyone in the sport,” said F1 promoter Formula One. , in a press release.
“There was no point in adding a substitute (race) if the costs for everyone in terms of freight, travel, hotels, etc. weren’t worth it. It was […] to consider the bigger picture and the business value of racing versus the larger costs and burdens,” he said.
F2 at Le Castellet
The organization announced at the end of February that it was impossible to organize “under the current circumstances” the Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 23 to 25 in Sochi.
Since then, various options had emerged to replace it, such as Singapore, approached to host a race on these dates, a week before the official GP scheduled for September 30 to October 2 in the city-state.
Other routes such as Hockenheim in Germany had shown interest, but “the options in Europe were not viable”, in particular because of certain rules related to freight in the EU which would have been a “logistical nightmare”. , according to Formula One.
“The general decision was made to do what is most reasonable and efficient for everyone and not to add loads at a time when external costs and schedules are already tight,” explained the promoter.
If the queen category has given up on this round, Formula 2, also expected in Russia at the end of September, has on the other hand decided to modify its season to maintain 14 races on the calendar.
For the first time since 2019, F2 single-seaters will stop at the Paul-Ricard circuit in Le Castellet (Var) from July 22 to 24, on the sidelines of the F1 GP expected this weekend on French soil.