On Wednesday, Formula One and the FIA announced that the 2020 Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in that country.
The request for the race to be postponed was filed by the Chinese Grand Prix promoter Juss Sports Group. Both the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Administration of Sports were involved in the discussion before the request was filed.
The 2020 Chinese Grand Prix was originally scheduled for April 17-19, and no new dates have been released. The FIA said potential dates for later in the year would be considered if the situation improved.
"We all look forward to racing in China as soon as possible and wish everyone in the country the best during this difficult time," Formula One said in a statement.
Race teams are in the process of unveiling their new 2020 race cars. Ferrari unveiled its SF1000 race car Tuesday while Renault, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Red Bull Racing and others will follow suit.
More than 4.1 million fans attended at least one of the 21 Grands Prix in 2019. Attendance was up year-over-year in 2019 with a 1.75% increase over 2018. The 2019 Chinese Grand Prix saw a double-digit increase in attendance in 2019 compared to the previous year, though the exact number wasn't reported by F1 organizers.
The 2020 pre-season testing will begin February 19 in Barcelona.
