News on Canada F1 GP expected this week
Apr.27 - News about the 2021 Canadian Grand Prix should be forthcoming "this week".
That is the claim of Quebec's economics and innovation minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, amid reports regional and federal health authorities consider the Montreal race too unsafe to go ahead amid the pandemic.
"The sea freight to Baku and Montreal should have left already," Alfa Romeo team manager Beat Zehnder told Auto Motor und Sport.
Fitzgibbon insisted that authorities are dealing with the situation as quickly as possible.
"We are currently in negotiations," he told Le Journal de Montreal newspaper. "It is a tourist event of paramount importance for Quebec and, in fact, it is the most important in Canada.
"There are health issues that we are all aware of, so we will try to come to terms with that," he added. "We are talking to the Formula 1 people and I think we will be able to make announcements this week."
When asked how he is feeling about those talks, Fitzgibbon said he is "an optimist by nature".
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
Mr. Fitzgibbon, the fact that it is a huge tourist draw is exactly the problem. At track it could be managed with a bit of spacing outdoors, but thousands of fans in downtown Montreal is a challenge. This race will be a ghost or nothing.
The USGP in Texas is a different story. Those cowboys will pack 'em in shoulder to shoulder...pandemic be damned.
I bought a package for the 2020 race in Canada as a 50th birthday present to myself. I carried forward that package for the 2021 season after last years cancellation. Anyone watching the news can clearly see that the variants of the coronavirus have played havoc with our system, and that barring some kind of massive amount of organized and co ordinated vaccination programme across the country that 2021 would not go ahead with a crowd.
The race is 6 weeks out. Time off has been booked etc and yet here we still sit, waiting for a decision to be made about whether to proceed or not. As a Canadian (from Vancouver), I can tell you there's hasn't been the massive vaccination programme required to allow fans to attend the race and its festivities that would normally occur the week of the race in the numbers to make it viable.
Canada has had the vaccine manufacturers delay delivery of vaccines or reduce the amount of those deliveries, plus the fits and spits over the Astra Zanica vaccine and blood clots. This decision could and should have been made weeks ago. I get its a fluid situation, but the trend of the number of cases, across the country and in particular Quebec, haven't supported holding an attended 2021 Canadian Grand Prix.
If again, its postponed, I'll hold onto my ticket package for the 2022 race. It'll still be my 50th birthday present to myself... just belated in happening. And yes I realize that this is a first world problem, and millions are far worse off than me. Just venting frustration, at the pandemic, and at the hesitation of making the right call.
Kegler, we feel your pain. Bad deal. Here's hoping that your GP trip doesn't become your 60th bd present. Take solace in the fact that you live in one of the best cities in the world.
who wants a kebab..
✅ Checkout the latest 50 F1 Fans comments.