Formula 1 organisers are set to have a weight lifted from their shoulders as Turkey is removed from the United Kingdom’s red list.
A revised 2021 calendar, issued over the Belgian Grand Prix, continued to include the make-up event in Istanbul.
Originally slated to replace the Canadian Grand Prix, Turkey’s first appearance on this year’s calendar was scrapped because it was added to the UK’s red list.
Travellers from countries on the red list are required to quarantine in a managed facility upon entry into the UK, with non-residents not allowed entry at all, posing a significant issue for the seven F1 teams based there.
That issue was sidestepped by rejigging the middle of the year around and racing twice at the Red Bull Ring.
Turkey then reappeared in place of Singapore though its place on the calendar has been tenuous courtesy of its presence on the red list.
However, a report from The Times out of the UK claims that Turkey could come off the list by October, while the red-amber-green system it currently employs is simplified.
It’s suggested that could see the list of 62 countries which currently appear on the red list cut by up to half.
Brazil and Mexico, which F1 is slated to visit in November, are both red listed countries.
F1 is set to take in a triple-header with Mexico City (November 7) and Sao Paulo Grands Prix (November 14) preceding a yet-to-be-confirmed event, expected to be in Qatar (November 21).
Such a schedule all but eliminates the need for UK-based personnel to quarantine upon arrival home.
Formula 1 is next weekend set to visit Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix, the last scheduled stop before the Turkish event on October 8-10.
Discussion about this post