F1: Turkey Back On Calendar To Replace Singapore GP?

The Turkish GP was only recently cancelled which is why the French and Austrian GPs had to be rescheduled - in fact, a doubleheader in Austria was forced upon the grid because of the same. But it seems like the Turkish GP may be back on the cards as the Singapore GP h was cancelled over the weekend. 

''Planning is more difficult than last year because the rules around travel and the quarantine period keep changing,'' said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to Auto, Motor und Sport. 

The good news is that since Singapore GP is more than 90 days away, in October, the situation in Turkey could change which could make it favourable to fill in the gap as it was part of the Asia triple header with Russia, Japan and Singapore. Turkey is very close to Russia and is on the cusp of Asia and Europe which makes it ideal. 

The Singapore GP is one of the showcase events of the F1 calendar

Turkey came into the picture to fill in for Canada but the rules in the country meant that it couldn't host the race. Those rules could be relaxed as the pandemic calms down in parts of Europe. 

That being said, there is a possibility that the race in Japan will also get cancelled. There however is a belief if Japan goes ahead with the Olympic Games then things will be fine. However, in case of Japan moving out, then Malaysia could be back in the fray and if not that China could be back in action considering it has the most people vaccinated. 

The Indy 500 hosted more than 100000 people at the track 

There is also chatter about a second Grand Prix in the US apart from Texas - though there have been no conversations about Indianapolis coming back even though now it is owned by motor sporting legend Roger Pensky who is close with Ross Brawn and Stefano Domenicali. In 2022, there will also be the race in Miami and with the States opening up as witnessed by the recently concluded Indy 500 which hosted 135000 people - the highest attendance for a sporting event since the advent of the pandemic that's also an option. 

Australia, Brazil and Germany as backup options are looking unlikely with Australia having very strict travel restrictions, Brazil having an emergence of a new variant and Germany generally being not willing to bring a German GP home even though the Nurburgring filled in 2020.