Zandvoort waits for FIA to provide coronavirus ’clarity’

Organisers of the Dutch GP at Zandvoort are waiting to hear more about the postponement of the 2020 race.

After the eleventh-hour cancellation of the season opener in Australia, Liberty Media and the FIA have now announced that Bahrain and Vietnam are off for now too.

The gap gives officials time to "study the viability of potential alternative dates for each grand prix later in the year should the situation improve", an official statement said.

F1 also said authorities "expect to begin the championship in Europe at the end of May, but given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe in recent days, this will be regularly reviewed".

A delayed start until June would mean that Zandvoort, Barcelona and Monaco will all be postponed too, but that has not yet been officially announced.

Barcelona admitted that it is "analysing different available options with Formula 1".

As for the Dutch organisers, spokesman Jan Lammers told the local broadcaster NOS: "We have not heard anything formally."

Circuit director Robert van Overdijk said there is some confusion about when F1 intends to resume the calendar, as the FIA had initially said May 1 while FOM announced the end of May.

"We are reading conflicting reports from the FIA and FOM," he told De Telegraaf. "We have no official report that we have been postponed and we are trying to clarify that."

Lammers continued: "Without knowing where we stand, we don’t know what is going to happen. But given what we see happening in the world, we would understand.

"I expect clarity in the near future. It is up to the FIA to provide that clarity," he added.

Lammers admitted that it would be difficult to simply reschedule the race for later in the year.

"It’s complicated," he said. "You cannot just set a new date. There are many parties involved. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has a hold on all of us.

"Let’s hope this nasty phenomenon clears up quickly, then we can go back and see what makes sense."