Suzuka delays ticket sales, Spa to welcome F1 crowd

Fears about the viability of October’s Japanese GP have proved to be well founded.

On Monday, following weeks of speculation, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali admitted: "I won’t hide that the situation in Japan is under observation."

He is referring, of course, to Formula 1’s ongoing covid-related calendar crisis, and the fact that Japan is only currently hosting the Olympic Games amid grave fears about the pandemic and tight social restrictions.

Indeed, Honda-owned Japanese GP host Suzuka and the Mobilityland organisation have now admitted that ticket sales for the October 8-10 F1 event have been postponed for now.

"Regarding the pre and general sales schedule for the end of July, we are postponing based on the current social situation until we have more reliable information," Japanese media quote a spokesperson as saying.

There is better news from Spa-Francorchamps, however, where Belgian GP organisers say they are "quite positive" about welcoming spectators to the late August race.

"We can organise our event with stands and general admission," revealed circuit director Stijn de Boever, with reports clarifying that spectators will need to be vaccinated or have had a recent covid test.

"In total, we are allowed to admit 75,000 spectators per day," he told the Dutch source Grand Prix Radio.