Formula E, the electric motor racing championship, has suspended the 2019/20 season for two months, citing the challenge posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Auto-racing governing body the FIA made the decision with Formula E. The org has also taken the decision with Formula One to suspend the three opening fixtures on its 2020 calendar: Sunday’s Australian GP, as well as upcoming races in Bahrain and Vietnam.
Formula E is implementing a flag system traditionally used in motorsport to determine different phases and time windows where races could be rearranged or remain unaffected. Red represents no races, yellow keeping the opportunity open and green going ahead as planned.
At present, March and April have been categorized as red flags, with May yellow and June and July currently green. Upcoming races in Paris, Seoul, and Jakarta have all been cancelled, while events in Rome and China’s Sanya had already been postponed.
Formula E attracted nearly 411 million cumulative viewers for its most recent season. Formula One received around 1.9 billion viewers in 2019.
“Right now is the time to take responsible actions and this is why we have decided to temporarily suspend the season and move forward with introducing measures to freeze races from taking place over the next two months. Motorsport plays a major part in our lives and it is important, but what is more important is the health and safety of our staff, fans and their families, as well as citizens in the cities we race,” said Formula E founder and chairman Alejandro Agag. “The ABB FIA Formula E Championship will be back in full force, once the ongoing health crisis and spread of Covid-19 has subsided.”