The return of the Dutch Grand Prix will not happen before September at least after a ban on public events was extended.
Originally scheduled to make its comeback on the Formula 1 calendar in less than two weeks on May 3, it was hoped the race at the upgraded Zandvoort would instead take place in August.
However, those plans have now also been scuppered as the coronavirus continues, following the decision announced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday.
“It’s better to be cautious now than to have regrets later,” he was quoted by Crash.net
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“I would love to say we could go a lot further but that is very scary and dangerous. We see a little improvement in the data, but just imagine that we would relax some measures, causing the virus to peak again.
“That’s something we all absolutely don’t want.”
So far, the Netherlands has seen over 34,000 cases with almost 4,000 deaths linked to Covid-19.
This extension comes after neighbouring Belgium also cancelled all public events until the same date last week, putting its GP at Spa-Francorchamps into doubt.
Yet F1 is still trying to push ahead with a 2020 season starting with a potential double-header in Austria on July followed by another at Silverstone two weeks later.
To achieve that, attendance would be limited to just team personnel, but Dutch GP chief Jan Lammers has already ruled out a fan-less race at Zandvoort, calling it “unthinkable”.
And with the weather limiting a feasible race until October at the latest, he doesn’t see F1 making the trip to the Netherlands this year.
“We have to wait and see what possibilities are still offered to us, but I do not think it is likely that this year will still be possible,” he told De Telegraaf.
“It is what it is. In any case, there is clarity and I respect the level of assessment of the experts. It is also clearly communicated.
“The management of Formula 1 and the international motorsport federation FIA is now facing an almost impossible task to make something of a calendar for this year.”
