Formula E have announced that they will be suspending the 2019-20 season for the next two months in light of the continued spread of the Coronavirus.
They become the latest in a series of sports to suspend their activities, and they said the decision was the responsible course of action due to the races taking place in highly-populated cities.
Organisers also announced the introduction of a ‘flag system’ to determine the different phases of when race might be able to take place.
Mimicking the system used in motorsport, a red flag indicates no races will be held, a yellow flag means that the opportunity for races to take place still exists, and a green flag would mean races were still going ahead as planned.
Currently the rest of this month and April are marked as red, with May marked as yellow, while June and July are green.
This means that the ePrix in Paris, Seoul and Jakarta will not take place on their original dates, but races in Berlin, New York and London are still expected to go ahead.
Chairman of Formula E, Alejandro Agag, said that this was the right move for the sport, but that he expected the series to return with ‘full force’ once the spread of the virus had subsided.
He said, “Right now is the time to take responsible actions and this is why we have decided to temporarily suspend the season and move forward with introducing measures to freeze races from taking place over the next two months.
“Motorsport plays a major part in our lives and it is important, but what is more important is the health and safety of our staff, fans and their families, as well as citizens in the cities we race.
“The ABB FIA Formula E Championship will be back in full force, once the ongoing health crisis and spread of COVID-19 has subsided.”
