Organisers of Formula One Chinese Grand Prix ask to move Shanghai race to later in 2021

Ongoing shadow of coronavirus means April date for race looking increasingly unlikely

Lewis Hamilton on his way to victory in the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Reuters

Organisers of the Chinese Grand Prix say they have asked Formula One management to move the Shanghai race from April to later in the 2021 calendar.

Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll said this week that agreement had already been reached to postpone the Australian Grand Prix to the back end of the season with Bahrain replacing it as the opening race in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sport saw many races cancelled last year due to the pandemic with the race calendar eventually reduced from 22 rounds to 17 across Europe and the Middle East and some circuits, including Austria, Britain, Bahrain, hosting two Grands Prix.

"We have been in contact [with F1] via conference call almost every week," Yibin Yang, the general manager of race promoter Juss Event, said in Motorsport.com.

"Despite the calendar being in place as usual, I think it's hugely uncertain the F1 race would take place in the first half of the year, in April.

"We aim to swap it to the second half of the year, and we have formally submitted the request that we hope to move it to the second half of the year."

Formula One announced a 2021 calendar in November featuring a record 23 rounds with 21 races the highest in a single season till date.

China, which is the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, has either cancelled or rescheduled all global sporting events since the start of the pandemic.

"To move it to the second half of the year, it depends on the plan of the city government," Yang added in Shanghai. "If we put all international events to the second half of the year, it will be over the capacity for the city."

________________________________________________________________________

Gallery: the 2020 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix