AUSTIN, Texas — The Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix has been canceled this year due to COVID-19, COTA officials have confirmed.
"The cancellation is prudent, but painful," COTA chairman Bobby Epstein said in a tweet on July 24. "After a sold out 2019, advance ticket sale deposits were up nearly 250% over the prior year, and our staff was preparing our biggest year ever. We had secured blockbuster performers for the evening shows and the racing event this is fantastic. I'm disappointed for the fans, COTA employees, our community, and everyone in the Formula One Paddock, as I believe we all look forward to hat has become a wonderful annual tradition. It is my hope that the pandemic will soon pass and we will celebrate 2021 with the greatest Formula One United States Grand Prix ever!"
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COTA also recently canceled its 2020 Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas earlier this month, which was originally scheduled to happen in April 2020 before it was postponed to the end of the year.
Visitors from around the world came to Austin to witness the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix in November of 2019.
Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth Formula One championship with a second-place finish at the 2019 U.S. Grand Prix, a race won by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. The British driver bumped to second in F1 history behind German Michael Schumacher's record seven titles.
One driver even donned a Texas Longhorns helmet in the 2019 race.
“I think everyone’s on the same page that it’s too risky to try and plan that and risk spending the millions to bring over freight to get everything geared up,” Epstein told our media partners at the Austin American-Statesman. “You really would be betting now on the situation getting a lot better, and I don’t think anyone’s willing to place that bet.”
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