The restrictions put in place by the government in France following the outbreak of the coronavirus meant the French Grand Prix was never going to happen in 2020, according to Eric Boullier.
Boullier, the former Racing Director of the McLaren F1 Team, is now the managing director of the French Grand Prix, which was set to take place at the end of June only to be one of ten races to either be postponed or cancelled due to the severity of COVID-19.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, spoke about the pandemic in a public address when the pandemic began to grow and insisted that a ban of mass public gatherings would remain in place until mid-July, ending the chance of a race taking place at the Circuit Paul Ricard this season.
The European leg of the season has now been confirmed with two races in Austria kicking off a run of eight races in ten weeks, but France is absent from proceedings, with the race joining Australia, Canada, Monaco and the Netherlands as being cancelled all together for the 2020 season.
“Given the developments related to the spread of the virus Covid-19, the Grand Prix de France takes note of the decisions announced by the State making impossible to maintain our event,” Boullier is quoted as saying by Crash.net.
“The looks of GIP Grand Prix of France – Le Castellet already turning to summer 2021 in order to offer our viewers an even more unprecedented event in the heart of the Southern Region.”
