Chinese Grand Prix postponed due to coronavirus outbreak after plea from race promoter

Formula One hopes to reschedule the fourth round of the 2020 championship later in the year but lack of available weekends could see race cancelled completely

The Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus, following a plea from the race promoter to call off the scheduled race on 19 April.

Formula One, together with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), accepted a request from the race organisers to postpone the Grand Prix in Shanghai until further notice.

After holding discussions this week with the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of People's Republic of China (CAMF) and Shanghai Administration of Sports, promoters Juss Sports Group requested that F1 consider postponing the race weekend until it is safe to stage sporting events in China.

The virus outbreak has already left more than 1,000 people dead in China, with the World Health Organisation declaring the matter a global health emergency, but it has been stressed that there remains a hope to stage the race further in the year despite the tight 21-race schedule that remains in place.

"The Chinese Grand Prix has always been a very important part of the F1 calendar and the fans are always incredible," Formula 1 said in a statement. "We all look forward to racing in China as soon as possible and wish everyone in the country the best during this difficult time."

Formula One, the FIA and the race organisers will now work with the local authorities to try and plan an emergency weekend later in the year in the hope that the race can take place. But the already bloated 22-race calendar – the largest schedule F1 have ever announced thanks to the additions of the Vietnam and Netherlands rounds – means that there is little opportunity to stage the race without significantly increasing the workload for teams and officials involved.

The season begins in Australia on 15 March, and with the removal of the fourth round in China, there will now be a month’s gap between the inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix on 5 April and the return to the Netherlands on 3 May. However, once the European season gets underway, there is no space on the calendar beyond the summer break to place the rescheduled race without creating a long-distance triple-header, with some weekends potentially resulting in five consecutive weekends of races.

There could yet be further disruption due to the maiden Vietnamese Grand Prix taking place in Hanoi, which is not far from the Chinese border that the two countries share. Vietnam’s capital city is roughly 1,350km away, 550km more than the distance between the origin of the outbreak and Shanghai, but the FIA stressed that they will make any further announcements in due course if they are advised to act.

The FIA said: “The global situation regarding this virus will continue to be monitored by the FIA with regard to other motor sport events.”