Zandvoort yet to hear from the FIA over coronavirus

Mar.16 (GMM) Jan Lammers says he is still waiting to discuss the future of Zandvoort’s scheduled return to the 2020 Formula 1 calendar.

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis and the official postponement of the races in Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China, F1’s authorities admit that the races scheduled for May could also be called off.

“It’s a bizarre situation,” Lammers, a former F1 driver who now represents the Dutch GP promoter, told the NOS broadcaster.

“A year ago, the question was whether we would make it, also with the renovation of the circuit. Now we are here but we have this situation.

“We haven’t heard from the FIA yet,” Lammers revealed. “Most of them are still on planes and I suspect that the calendar will be changed in some way. Let’s wait and see.”

However, he said it is too early to say that 2020 is effectively a write-off.

“We are not yet thinking about 2021,” said Lammers. “It’s very early days. This is all new.

“At the moment the virus rules and public health is paramount. We also don’t want hundreds of thousands of people close together in the stands.”

Lammers is also quoted by Auto Bild: “There are no official announcements yet. F1 and the FIA have not yet cancelled our grand prix for May 3.

“Of course it wouldn’t be a surprise if the race was postponed, but we are waiting before we communicate anything.”