By Will Anderson – Managing Editor, Austin Business Journal
Nov 10, 2020, 2:47pm CST Updated Nov 10, 2020, 3:34pm CST
After missing out on the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Austin is scheduled to host the race on Oct. 24, 2021.
That’s according to the provisional calendar released Nov. 10 by F1. It’s good news for the backers of the Circuit of The Americas, where the USGP had been held every year since 2012, until the pandemic shortened the F1 calendar to 17 races in 2020.
The 2020 race at COTA — about 7 miles southeast of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport — was cancelled in July in order to prevent further spread of Covid-19.
That was a major financial blow to COTA. Austin Business Journal reported in 2018 that up to half of the track’s annual revenue comes from F1 race weekend. The event had three-day attendance of about 286,000 in 2019.
COTA also lost its IndyCar race in 2020 because of the pandemic, and the race is not returning in 2021. However, it was recently announced the NASCAR would race for the first time at COTA next year.
Organizers at COTA are trying to diversify their revenue streams. This winter the track is hosting a winter wonderland drive-thru called Peppermint Parkway, complete with lights displays and cookies. The track in October received approval to rezone 1,155 acres to allow for mixed-use development, including a hotel and water park.
And although the pandemic seems to be worsening in parts of the United States and Europe, F1 said Nov. 10 that host cities for 2021 “are reassured by our safe return to racing this season and confident that the plans and procedures we have in place will allow us to return to a level of normality for the 2021 season.”
The organization continued, in a statement: “As we have said before, we expect fans to return for the 2021 season and for the calendar to look similar to the originally planned 2020 season. We will continue to work closely with our promoters and partners and look forward to the start of the season on the 18th March 2021 in Australia
https://bb014dd7008cf1f2fd42a2253c034c22.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html https://bb014dd7008cf1f2fd42a2253c034c22.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html Extra attention will surround next year’s race in Central Texas because COTA signed a 10-year agreement to host the U.S. Grand Prix, making 2021 the last year on the contract. Bobby Epstein, COTA’s chairman, declined to comment to the Austin American-Statesman in July on where those negotiations stand.
F1’s provisional 2021 schedule includes its first championship race in Saudi Arabia — a move that has sparked concern among some human rights organizations. For example, Amnesty International has called attention to what it calls the arbitrary detention of government critics and human rights activists.
The provisional F1 calendar for 2021 still needs the approval of the World Motor Sport Council of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the French organization that oversees F1 as well as other competitions such as the World Rally Championship.
