The writing was on the wall when F1 announced the postponement on Thursday of the Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix. And now, the venerable Automobile Club de Monaco has permanently scrapped its two motorsports events for 2020.
Prior to today's announcement, the glitzy Principality was several weeks into building its street circuit which was scheduled to host its historic event on May 8-10 and its round of the F1 world championship on May 24.
The legendary Monaco Grand Prix has enjoyed a continued presence on the F1 calendar since its second edition, organized in 1955.
The ACM issued the following statement:
"The current situation concerning the worldwide pandemic and its unknown path of evolution, the lack of understanding as to the impact on the FIA F1 World Championship 2020, the uncertainty with regards to the participation of the teams, the consequences with regards to the differing measures of confinement as taken by various governments worldwide, the multi-border restrictions for accessing the Principality of Monaco, the pressure on all implicated businesses, their dedicated staff who are unable to undertake the necessary installations, the availability of the indispensable workforce and volunteers (more than 1500) required for the success of the event means that the situation is no longer tenable.
"As a result, and after careful consideration as to the gravity of this crisis worldwide, it is with great sadness that the AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE MONACO Board of Directors has taken the decision to cancel the 12th GRAND PRIX DE MONACO HISTORIQUE (8-10 May 2020) and the 78th GRAND PRIX DE MONACO FORMULA 1, FIA World Championship (21-24 May 2020).
"To all the fans, spectators, partners and our members, the Board of Directors wishes to express its sincere regrets that these two events cannot be postponed and under no circumstances, will it be possible to organize these events later this year."
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