A schedule published by the FIA on its website indicates there will not be a grand prix in South Korea in 2015.
The race was surprisingly included on the 2015 F1 calendar which was revealed following an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in December.
The race’s inclusion increased the number of events to an unprecedented 21, but the fact it was scheduled to take place one week before the Spanish Grand Prix raised doubts over whether it would take place. The organisers of the Korean Grand Prix, which was held between 2010 and 2013, expressed surprise at its return to the calendar.
Now the event, which was previously listed as “subject to confirmation” is missing entirely from a 20-race schedule which has appeared in a (PDF) document on the FIA website.
In all other respects the new calendar matches the one which was published in December.
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Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
6th January 2015, 23:20
As expected. Now we get to see more of Hulkenburg in the Porsche LMP.
Paul (@frankjaeger)
6th January 2015, 23:49
I think the teams, and the fans can breathe a satisfying sigh of relief
John White (@jonty1512)
7th January 2015, 0:17
What happened to the Indian GP? Didn’t Bernie say there wasn’t a race in 2014 but definitely back for 2015?
Theo Parkinson (@theo-hrp)
7th January 2015, 1:57
Are you actually confused about something Bernie saying not actually being true?
notalent
7th January 2015, 3:01
You know how you can tell Bernie is telling a lie? His lips are moving.
Glimiril (@glimiril)
7th January 2015, 3:34
Do the teams still get 5 PU as anything over 20 indicated and the reason it was penciled in to get around the rules?
Richard
7th January 2015, 11:05
The calendar has to have 21 races at the point of the first race, for the 5 PUs to be allowed so they will now definitely only have 4 for 2015.
I wholly believe that the reason for adding the date was not to satisfy the teams but to generate more revenue for FOM (if you look at all the reports from around the time). Korea had a contract to host a race this year and Bernie put it on the calendar as a polite reminder that they need to cough up a bit of cash even though they had no intention of hosting the race.
Marco Freire (@mfreire)
7th January 2015, 4:27
Good. Now we can see Hulkenberg in the Porsche LMP car- and no more of that very poor Korean circuit- which also has a horrible location. If the track had been built closer to Seoul, well- it would have been a better event, that is for sure.
Marco Freire (@mfreire)
7th January 2015, 4:27
And Mexico is still on there- great to see that.
TheBullWhipper (@thebullwhipper)
7th January 2015, 7:25
It’s being turned into Tilk-Drome with apparently every corner falling under his knife.
Don’t hold your breath I’m afraid.
mfreire
7th January 2015, 15:36
You’re probably right- particularly in the Peraltada’s case- but that corner was never going to be included anyway- unless they wanted to put the roads behind the corner underground, but otherwise- forget it. But Mexico is a country that loves its motor racing, and racing at 7,380 feet above sea level- that’s a unique challenge that F1 doesn’t have right now.
Foosa
7th January 2015, 11:23
@mfreire For TV viewing fans, does it matter where the track is located? I may be one of the few who liked the track.. and the last race in 2013 was not so bad either, atleast better than this year’s Sochi.
mfreire
7th January 2015, 15:33
Just about every race in recent years was better than Sochi last year. And from a business perspective, location in a country with just about no motor racing history or heritage is a big thing- the circuit’s challenge and appearance is the most important thing for TV viewers, of course- but in order for an event like the Korean GP to succeed, the best location would have been in a pretty place or near a city like Seoul, where it is accessible to spectators. This is why the Mokpo event was a failure- it was located in an isolated area, there was hardly any scenery and it was very hard for people to get to the event easily. So guess what- F1 was not made known to a greater audience there.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
7th January 2015, 21:43
It was expected.