F1 News
Lammers about F1's Dutch Grand Prix: "Only when it is clear, can we say more"
Now that it has been announced that the Grands Prix of Bahrain and Vietnam will not take place on the planned dates due to the coronavirus, the question now moves forward to the Dutch Grand Prix. The race at Zandvoort is currently the next race on the calendar but is likely to be shifted because F1 are expecting to start the season at the end of May.
Miscommunication
GPblog spoke to Jan Lammers about the situation of the Dutch Grand Prix. "At the moment it is still difficult to say much about it because conflicting messages are still being released. I don't know what the reason is, it will be miscommunication or a typo," he said.
“When there is clarity about the statement, we have something we can talk about. At the moment there is no clarity yet because FIA and FOM contradict each other in their reporting. Only when that is clear can we say more and provide more information. We are also full of questions ourselves."
The FIA announced that they want the events to resume from May 1. The FOM says that the races will only take place around the end of May, with Monaco as the first race of the season.
"It is, of course, the coronavirus that has gripped us. I would like to say all kinds of things about it. There are all kinds of 'what if's', all of which are scenarios that it is too early to talk about," he added.
It has already been speculated that the Grand Prix of the Netherlands may be held in the summer break. The summer break would then be cancelled in its entirety.
Ambiguity
It is therefore still unclear what will happen to the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. For the time being, this is 'just' scheduled for May 3, but when the FIA and FOM can provide clarity about the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season, we will know more.