No cancellation of Canadian Grand Prix as wildfires spread

• The Canadian Grand Prix slated for June 17 is not at risk of cancellation
• Quebec in Eastern Canada, whose main city, Montreal, is hosting the marathon
• It is the most affected by the wildfires

The Canadian Grand Prix slated for June 17 is not at risk of cancellation following a breakout of wildfires, F1 maintains.

Quebec in Eastern Canada, whose main city, Montreal, is hosting the marathon, has some of the worst fires, and hazardous smoke has spread to New York City and other cities.

In light of this development, reports from official source in F1 state that nothing is changing and that the race will continue as scheduled.

The source told Mail Sport that they have assurance from relevant authorities that everything will remain under control.

“We have been assured by all the relevant information that the situation in Montreal at this time is different to other parts of the country and northern US, the risk remains low and air quality is good in Montreal,” said the F1 source.

Canadian weather forecast predicts temperatures will drop over the next few days, much to the relief of locals, with showers of rainfall predicted too.

Canadian wildfires. Photo/Fox News

Chicago in the west and Washington, DC in the south have both had smoky air from the Canadian wildfires.

The wildfire season in Canada has gotten off to a disastrous start, with 9.4 million acres now burnt in almost every province, from British Columbia on the West Coast to Nova Scotia in the Maritimes.

The overall burned area is 15 times larger than the 10-year average and is larger than the entire state of Maryland in the United States.

More than 11,000 Québécois have fled their homes as the fire spreads.  The wildfires in the Eastern province caused panic in the circuit as two other grand prix were cancelled earlier.

F1 cancelled the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for April 16, 2023. The cancellation was due to China’s implementation of a zero-Covid policy. Upon weighing options, the F1 governing body resolved that it was impossible to hold a race at the Shanghai International Circuit in 2023.

In a statement, F1 said it held talks with the promoter of the event but it proved difficult due to the stringent Covid-19 protocols in place.

“Formula 1 can confirm, following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities, that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the Covid-19 situation,” read part of the statement.

A few weeks back, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali announced the cancellation of Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy due to flooding.

Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix 2023. Photo/The New York Times

Parts of Imola were hit by severe flooding following a heavy downpour days before the racing weekend. This brought the season’s total races to 22.

Domenicali took action after communicating with the promoter and local authorities citing that F1 doesn’t want to burden the neighbourhood or the emergency services at Imola.

As a result, of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix call-off, there are big flight cancellations too. Also, hotels in Imola will also have to deal with about 2,000 bookings.

In light of this, cancelling the Canadian Grand Prix would mean that that the season will only have 21 races.