Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll says the Australian GP in March will be pushed back to the back half of the 2021 season and replaced by Bahrain.<\/p>\n
Australia’s stringent COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine measures are set to remain in force in the coming months as the pandemic continues to longer Down Under.<\/p>\n
Reports of the opening round at Melbourne being postponed emerged earlier this week, but Stroll says the call has been made.<\/p>\n
“Melbourne has been — it’s not officially announced but it will be — not cancelled but postponed,” the Canadian told Reuters<\/em> ahead of the announcement of Aston Martin’s title partnership with IT giant Cognizant.<\/p>\n “We will go there sometime in the fall (autumn) and the first race will be Bahrain.”<\/p>\n Formula 1 teams were apparently informed of the change in a virtual meeting last Monday with new F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali.<\/p>\n This year’s calendar theoretically includes a record 23-race schedule, but many believe – including Stroll – that more disruption awaits the sport in the coming months.<\/p>\n “I do believe we’re in for a difficult two or three months,” said Stroll. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine. I think the first few races will be slightly challenging.<\/p>\n “But Formula One management and the FIA, I really take my hat off to them to deliver 17 races as we did last year in 23 weeks, without really any major hiccups, in a very impressive manner.<\/p>\n “I think the worst is behind us and we’ve learnt through last year how to proceed with this year.”<\/p>\n Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers<\/p>\n Keep up to date with all the F1 news via <\/em>Facebook<\/em> and <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll says the Australian GP in March will be pushed back to the back half of the 2021 season and replaced by Bahrain. Australia’s stringent COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine measures are set to remain in force in the coming months as the pandemic continues to longer Down Under. Reports of the … <\/p>\n\nRead also: European GP starts set to revert to traditional 2pm slot\n<\/ul>\n