Last month, it was announced that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled by Formula One due to “ongoing difficulties” with the Covid-19 pandemic in China.
This month, the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix remained cancelled after Formula 1 rejected a request from the Chinese organizers for the race to be reinstated and additionally – and perhaps, most importantly – will not be replaced on the 2023 F1 racing calendar.
The original April 23 race date will now be an open weekend and the 2023 F1 race calendar “will consist of 23 races” according to an official statement from F1. That also means there will be a nearly month-long gap between the 2023 Australian Grand Prix on April 2, 2023 and the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30, 2023.
The Chinese Grand Prix, which was to be held in Shanghai, has now not been held since 2019.
The 2023 F1 championship officially begins with the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5, 2023, while pre-season testing begins at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit from February 23-25, 2023.