Coronavirus issues force cancellation of Singapore F1 Grand Prix for second straight year

Formula One has announced that the Singapore Grand Prix will be cancelled for the second year in a row because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

With the Canadian Grand Prix already having been removed from the 23-race series and races in China and Turkey having been postponed and awaiting a slot in F1’s 2021 schedule, the cancellation of the night-time race will see further changes to the series calendar.

As speculation mounted on Friday about Singapore's imminent removal from the schedule, reports indicated that F1’s schedule amendments might see a second event in the United States this season. Alternatively, Singapore’s slot in the calendar race, which had been scheduled to run under floodlights on 3rd October, might now be used to schedule a race in China.

With Singapore having experienced a second wave of Coronavirus infections, organisers had advised that they would not be able to deliver "a full event experience fans have come to expect over the years, while safeguarding the health and safety of our fans, contractors, volunteers and staff."

Colin Syn, Deputy Chairman of the Singapore GP, advised “we understand that our fans were looking forward to another edition of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

"To cancel the event for a second year is an incredibly difficult decision, but a necessary one in light of the prevailing restrictions for live events in Singapore."

The cancellation will also see thousands of deferred tickets from last year to now be refunded. Tickets for this year’s race had yet to be released for sale, pending the decision on the event’s feasibility. Ticket holders who deferred their 2020 tickets to the 2021 race will now be fully refunded, with organisers saying they will be contacting them directly with the details.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Formula One held consecutive races at Austria's Red Bull Ring, Silverstone in England and the Bahrain International Circuit. In each case, the season calendar was arranged to allow two weeks at each track.

Among rescheduled races in 2021, the season-opener in Melbourne has already been postponed from March to November.

Under current conditions, only fully-vaccinated personnel will be allowed to travel to and participate in Melbourne’s race on 21st November.