For a second straight year, the Canadian Grand Prix at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been around for over a year now. 

Canadian news website CBC reported before the official announcement that ‘'Montreal public health authorities were categorically opposed to the race, worried the arrival of 2,500 participants would lead to outbreaks, even if no fans would be allowed to attend.’’ 

In better news for the Canadian venue, their deal has been extended by two years which will see the event on the F1 calendar until 2031. 

“We are grateful for the efforts of the promoter and the authorities in Canada, Quebec and Montreal in the past few weeks to try and make the race happen and we are pleased to announce a two-year extension to our partnership with the Canadian Grand Prix,” read a statement by Formula 1. 

“We will work with the promoter to ensure those with tickets from 2020 and 2021 races get the options of a refund or to transfer their tickets to next year’s race and look forward to racing in Canada in 2022.” 

Canada’s loss is Turkey’s gain as Istanbul Park will host a Grand Prix in 2021 thanks to the pandemic once again. The 2020 edition delivered a thrilling race in wet conditions as a sublime performance by Lewis Hamilton saw him join Michael Schumacher on a record-equalling seven Drivers’ Championships.  

F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali thanked Canada for their efforts to try and host the race, even if ultimately could happen.  

“While it is disappointing we cannot be in Canada this season we are excited to confirm that Turkey will host a Grand Prix in 2021 after an amazing race last season,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1. 

“I know all our fans are excited by the dramatic start to the season and Turkey is a great circuit that delivers great battles on the track. 

“I want to thank the promoter and authorities in Canada for all of their efforts in recent weeks but the travel situation made our plans impossible. I equally want to thank the promoter and authorities in Turkey for their ongoing willingness to host a Formula 1 race that shows the huge interest in our sport and the hope from many locations to have a Grand Prix. 

“We have had very good conversations will all the other promoters since the start of the year and continue to work closely with them during this period.” 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Turkey joins 2021 calendar in place of Canada on June 11-13<br><br>We are looking forward to the return of the Canadian Grand Prix in 2022, which has also signed a two-year contract extension<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TurkishGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TurkishGP</a> 🇹🇷 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://t.co/x3R8taLOci">pic.twitter.com/x3R8taLOci</a></p>&mdash; Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://twitter.com/F1/status/1387428917808668672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>