Fresh doubt over Shanghai’s F1 race as China cancels international sports events

China’s sporting authority has announced it will cancel almost all international sporting events, casting fresh doubt over this year’s postponed Formula 1 race in Shanghai.

The country’s General Administration of Sport announced on Thursday no such events will take place except for trials for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

The Chinese Grand Prix was the first round of the championship to be called off as a result of the global pandemic. Its race, originally scheduled for April 5th, was officially “postponed” in February, though no replacement date for the round has been set.

The Covid-19 outbreak is believed to have originated in Wuhan, around 700 kilometres west of Shanghai. Formula 1 cancelled or postponed its first 10 rounds of the 2020 season, and began the championship last week in Austria last week, almost four months after it was originally due to start.

It will race at the country’s Red Bull Ring for the second time this weekend as part of the first, eight-race leg the series has confirmed.

Further race dates are expected to be announced in the near future, including a second race in Italy at the Mugello circuit, as revealed by RaceFans last month.

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