Formula 1 has announced a new date for the Turkish Grand Prix this October.
The race at Istanbul Park, which returned as part of the revised 2020 schedule last November, was initially chosen to replace the Canadian GP earlier this month but had to be called off due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
But following news that the Singapore GP would not go ahead for the second straight year, F1 has taken the opportunity to re-include Turkey on the weekend of October 1-3.
“We are delighted to be coming back to Turkey to Intercity Istanbul Park circuit. We hope to see another fantastic race again on one of the best tracks in the world,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali commented.
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“We want to thank the Intercity Istanbul Park management and Mr Vural Ak for his personal efforts to make this event happen. We have shown that we can continue to adapt and there is huge interest in our sport and the hope from many locations to have a Grand Prix.
“We have had very good conversations with all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.”
The re-inclusion of Turkey may surprise some given the Covid-19 situation does remain fluid in the country, but F1 is confident the race will be able to go ahead as re-planned.
“After discussions with other promoters, we are confident that we will be able to travel to the following race under our strict safety protocols, a statement read.
“The Formula 1 community will continue to travel with stringent safety measures that have allowed us to travel safely this season. So far this season we have conducted over 44,000 tests with 27 positive cases a rate of 0.06%, with most coming during the earlier part of the season.
“Alongside this, a significant proportion of the F1 community has been vaccinated already and we are confident that all will have had the opportunity to do so by the end of the summer. We will continue to operate in a way that protects the safety of our personnel and the communities we visit.”
Under the current schedule, the Turkish GP will form part of a tripleheader with the Russian GP on September 26 and the Japanese GP on October 10.
