The 2020 Canadian Grand Prix – currently scheduled for June 14, 2020, in Montreal – has not yet been either cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak as the race organizers mull over their options.
If the race were to be held as scheduled, it would effectively be the 2020 Formula One race season opener and race promoter Francois Dumontier has indicated he has until April 12 before he has to make a decision one way or the other.
“If the situation has improved by then, we could have the site ready on schedule,” said Dumontier.
Currently, Quebec premier Francois Legault has asked all non-essential businesses to close until Monday, April 13, 2020.
The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal is held on a semi-permanent street circuit on the Ile Notre Dame in the St Lawrence Seaway, and, as Dumontier explained, can be prepped for race readiness quicker than either races preceding it in Monaco and Azerbaijan – which have been cancelled and postponed, respectively.
Dumontier said that if his race could not be held on its original date, it “would not be cancelled” but slotted into the revised calendar of 15-18 races currently being planned and mentioned by Formula 1 chairman Chase Carey.
The limited time frame for a rescheduled race in Montreal extends to September and – possibly – October, as temperatures in the Canadian province begin their annual plummet in November.