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Formula 1 Postpones Dutch & Spain Races, Cancels Monaco

The FIA Formula 1 sanctioning body announced the postponement of three additional races on Thursday, March 19, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dutch, Spanish and Monaco grands prix will be put on hold, thus emptying the schedule through at least May. The Monaco Grand Prix in particular has been canceled for 2020.

Formula 1’s entire roster of teams and drivers had arrived for the Melbourne Grand Prix in Australia last weekend before the sanctioning body elected to cancel the race altogether, with the annual summer break being moved up to the first few weeks of the season.

Additionally, the next three races of the season in Bahrain, Vietnam and China were all postponed during that time, with the three May events following Thursday morning.

“Due to the ongoing and fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally, the FIA, Formula 1 and the three promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans,” that statement read.

The statement also said that F1 hopes to reschedule as many of the events as possible.

“The FIA and Formula 1 continue to work closely with affected promoters and local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each grand prix later in the year should the situation improve,” the statement said.

“The FIA and Formula 1 expect to begin the 2020 championship season as soon as it is safe to do so after May and will continue to regularly monitor the ongoing COVID-19 situation,” it concluded.

Adam Cheek joined Frontstretch as a contributing writer in January 2019. A 2020 graduate of VCU, he covered sports there and later spent a year and a half as a sports host on 910 the Fan in Richmond, VA. He's freelanced for Richmond Magazine and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and also hosts the "Adam Cheek's Sports Week" podcast. Adam has followed racing since the age of three, inheriting the passion from his grandfather, who raced in amateur events up and down the East Coast in the 1950s.

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