LONDON: The Korean Formula One Grand Prix has been formally dropped from the 2015 calendar after its surprise inclusion last month for contractual reasons.
A revised 20-race calendar, starting in Australia on March 15, appeared on the governing International Automobile Federation’s website (www.fia.com).
An FIA spokesman confirmed the race had been removed because it was not viable.
That came as no shock, with the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone telling reporters in December that the local South Korean promoters did not want to hold the May 3 race but he had to include it for legal reasons.
“We have a contract with Korea. We have to put it on the calendar,” he said then. “If we hadn’t have done they could have sued us. We let them off for a year on the understanding they would be back.”
The race, first hosted at the southern Yeongam circuit in 2010, did not take place last year.
The decision to axe it again from what would have been a record 21-race list leaves a three week gap between Bahrain on April 19 and Spain on May 10.
Some Formula One teams had seen the decision to include the Korean race as simply a means of allowing teams to have five engines per car this season and avoid a planned reduction to four.
The wording of the regulations had stipulated that the teams could have five engines if the calendar “as originally scheduled” had more than 20 races.
That move was subsequently rendered unnecessary by a decision to allow limited in-season development for the existing engine manufacturers, although McLaren’s new partners Honda will not benefit from it.
Meanwhile, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has introduced tough new rules that will mean Formula One drivers must be at least 18-years-old and go through more rigorous testing.
Potential Formula One competitors will have to build up points over three years to get a race super licence under the rules which will start in 2016.
The new rules are part of a clampdown on inexperienced drivers. Max Verstappen in 2014 became the youngest driver to take part in Grand Prix practice and will drive for Toro Rosso this year at the age of 17. The new season starts in Australia on March 15. If the rules were enforced this year, Verstappen would not be allowed to take part and the likes of Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen would also have had to wait for their race debuts.
New competitors will have a test driving 300 kilometers (185 miles) in a Formula One car at racing speeds over a two-day period. They will also face an exam on Formula One regulations and have to complete at least 80 percent of two full seasons in championships that feed Formula One. AGENCIES
