The Chinese Grand Prix has started consultations on returning to the F1 calendar in 2023

Relevant parties of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix have already conducted consultations on holding the race in April.

Due to the continuous impact of the new crown epidemic, F1 has been unable to come to China for three consecutive years since the 1,000th Grand Prix in Shanghai in 2019.

In December last year, due to the uncertainty of the development of the domestic epidemic, F1 announced that the Chinese Grand Prix, which was originally on the 2023 season calendar, would not be held. But at the end of last year, China announced that it would cancel entry quarantine measures starting from January 8 this year. This means that potentially the biggest barrier to participation in sporting events is removed.

Motorsport Chinese Network learned that Shanghai has already conducted internal discussions, and also made preliminary communication with F1. It is understandable that after the New Year's Day holiday, various parties will continue to discuss related matters.

According to the original 2023 calendar, the Chinese Grand Prix was placed on April 16, with a two-week gap between Australia and Azerbaijan. In the latest F1 calendar approved by the FIA World Motor Sports Council, there is no alternate track between Melbourne and Baku, and the annual competition has been reduced from 24 to 23. In other words, that weekend was still open.

According to the practice, F1 usually starts logistics and transportation work in late January. The 5 sets of flying event materials for each team will be transported by sea to the competition venues outside Europe at the beginning of the season. Currently, the first five games of this season are held in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Azerbaijan and Miami, USA. Therefore, there is still relatively sufficient time for logistics and transportation coordination.

If the Chinese Grand Prix can successfully return to the 2023 calendar, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu will usher in his first home race in his second F1 season. Last year, the Shanghai teenager representing the Alfa Romeo team became the first Chinese driver to participate in the race in the history of the sport for more than 70 years, and scored points in his debut. After that, he finished in the top ten again twice, and had a record of breaking into Q3 in qualifying, and played an important team role in the team's sixth place in the manufacturer's year. This year, Zhou Guanyu will continue to compete with Valtteri Bottas.

As China's epidemic prevention work enters a new stage, good news continues to come in terms of the resumption of major international sports events. The ATP has announced that the Shanghai Masters will return this fall; in addition, the Asian Games have also confirmed that they will be held in Hangzhou in September this year.

Although the Shanghai International Circuit has not held international events including F1 in the past three years, it has completed the qualification verification required to host the world's top motor sports events in the middle of last year.