Korean GP has been formally removed from the 2015 calendar

Korean GP has been formally removed from the 2015 calendar

Yesterday evening it was announced by the FIA has confirmed that the Korean Grand Prix will not take place this year, after its brief appearance on the provisional 2015 Formula 1 calendar.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone caused a surprise in December when he added the South Korean event on to the 2015 schedule at the last minute, pushing the number of races up to 21.

Although there were some suggestions this was done as a means of handing F1 manufacturers an extra power unit, Ecclestone said at the time that he had only done so for contractual reasons.

With Korean organisers having expressed surprised at having its grand prix back, and not keen on the event happening, the Yeongam event has now quietly slipped off the schedule.

In a final calendar published on the FIA's website yesterday evening, it confirms that there will now only be 20 races – with Korea having failed to make it.

An FIA spokesman told the media yesterday in a statement the following regarding the Korean Grand Prix being formally dropped from the calendar:-

'The Commercial Rights holder proposed, as is his right, for the Korean Grand Prix to take place as there was a possibility for it to be included in 2015.

'The FIA accepted this, subject to confirmation. However, the possibility of the race happening disappeared and it has now been removed from the official calendar.'

All you can say about the situation is that if the Korean Grand Prix organisers had a contract with Ecclestone that was subject to confirmation and the organisers couldn't find the capital needed to host the Grand Prix, then it comes as no surprise that the race has been removed from the calendar after failing to meet the conditions set out for them.

When the news was announced, many pundits and fans on social media such as Twitter expressed their happiness about the Korean Grand Prix being dropped from the calendar formally. Over the past few years, the Korean Grand Prix has not had the best reaction from the fans while it has hosted the Grand Prix due to the fact that many felt the track was “boring, bland and unchallenging” and I would have to agree with them that it is the right direction for Korea to be formally removed from the calendar if they cannot commit the funds needed to host a Grand Prix this season.

With the absence of Korea from the 2015 calendar, this now means there is now a three-week gap between the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix. The 2015 Formula One Calendar is as follows below:-

March 15 Australian GP
March 29 Malaysian GP
April 12 Chinese GP
April 19 Bahrain GP
May 10 Spanish GP
May 24 Monaco GP
June 7 Canadian GP
June 21 Austrian GP
July 5 British GP
July 19 German GP
July 26 Hungarian GP
August 23 Belgian GP
September 6 Italian GP
September 20 Singapore GP
September 27 Japanese GP
October 11 Russian GP
October 25 USA GP
November 1 Mexican GP
November 15 Brazilian GP
November 29 Abu Dhabi GP