Stricter lockdown is going to jeopardize the French Grand Prix even more

De Grand Prix van Frankrijk staat op dit moment gepland op 28 juni en zou daarmee de eerste race van het nieuwe Formule 1-seizoen zijn. President Emmanuel Macron gaat aanstaande maandag vermoedelijk echter strengere maatregelen tegen het coronavirus aankondigen, die bovendien langer gaan duren.

In France there is already a strict lockdown in force, where people are only allowed to go out once a day and have to carry a form that shows when they left the house. These measures have been in place since 17 March and were due to expire on 15 April.

It is expected, however, that Macron will announce on Monday evening that these measures will be extended until the end of May and, in addition, that a number of points will be enforced even more rigorously. Preparations for a Grand Prix on 28 June will normally begin by then.

Speech à la Chruchill from Macron

"People who expect him to talk about a way out of this crisis will be disappointed," said a member of the government to Le Journal du Dimanche. "It will be more of a Churchillian speech, because we still have the hardest part of this crisis ahead of us."

As France is in a full lockdown until the end of May, it is unlikely that preparations can start immediately in the following weeks, as the restrictive measures will not all be lifted at once. The situation is similar to Austria, where the full lockdown was lifted last week, but the restrictive measures are still similar to the Netherlands.