Another cancelled grand prize? Canada struggles with extreme forest fires, question mark hangs over F1 race start

Canadian Grand Prix 2023 in jeopardy? Unfortunately, this is the current situation, as Canada is currently dealing with huge forest fires that are already affecting North America. With more than 400 fires burning across Canada and New York City also heavily affected by smoke, a big question mark is beginning to hang over the planned sporting events.

On Thursday afternoon, the well-known motorsport site Racing News 365 provided further details on the current grave situation in Canada. The country is dealing with extreme forest fires. This puts the start of sporting events in and around Canada in jeopardy in the near future.

One of them is the expected eighth Formula One race of this season. However, a question mark currently hangs over this planned event.

More than 400 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, with 150 in Québec alone. This is leading to dangerously smoky conditions in nearby major cities in Canada and parts of North America.

We are, of course, also talking about Montreal, where Gilles Villeneuve’s racing circuit is located. It should be noted that Formula 1 only moved here in 1978, before that Québec hosted the Queen of Motorsport.

The distance between the two cities is about 250 kilometres. However, the smoke from the forest fires is so thick that it has already affected New York, which has been shrouded in an orange haze for the last 48 hours.

As far as the aforementioned sports schedule is concerned, MLS matches were cancelled in New York and Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Moreover, the situation is unfortunately not improving.

The situation continues to deteriorate

According to a report from Environment Canada, conditions over Toronto worsened on Thursday. This prompted authorities to issue a warning for people not to leave their homes and to stay indoors instead. Otherwise, millions of people have been advised to wear protective masks outdoors.

Although the F1 race weekend in Canada is not due to start until 16 June, there are understandably issues surrounding the infrastructure of the grand prix. Much like the recently cancelled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, when the entire region was dealing with widespread flooding.

F1, Racing News 365