Organisers of Formula 1’s French Grand Prix will refund spectators who are unable to attend the event on its rescheduled date.
Formula 1 announced on Friday that Paul Ricard’s return, following its 2020 absence, will take place a week earlier than originally planned, on June 20.
It comes after travel restrictions made the Turkish Grand Prix, proposed for June 13, unfeasible and allows Formula 1 to install an effective replacement round in Austria on June 27.
That event will be known as the Styrian Grand Prix, ahead of the national round a week later, as originally planned.
Promoters in France had sold all 15,000 tickets for the race on June 27, as permitted under current guidelines, with those spectators split into three groups of 5,000 at the venue.
A refund will now be offered for those who cannot attend the race on the amended date.
“This change of date has not weakened our passion and our raison d’être: to offer our public the best event possible,” said French Grand Prix Managing Director Eric Boullier.
“We understand that this modification has an impact on the attendance of our spectators and partners and we are apologise about this.
“Our teams are already actively working to ensure that the rest of our event programme remains unchanged.”
The change of date also effectively scuppers plans for Romain Grosjean to carry out a demonstration run for Mercedes on home soil.
The French Grand Prix now clashes with IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Road America, in which Grosjean is scheduled to compete for Dale Coyne Racing.
