F1 Extends China Deal Despite No 2022 Grand Prix

Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 1, 2021 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in action. Reuters
Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 1, 2021 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in action. Reuters
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F1 Extends China Deal Despite No 2022 Grand Prix

Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 1, 2021 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in action. Reuters
Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 1, 2021 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in action. Reuters

Formula 1 has extended its contract with the Chinese Grand Prix until 2025, the organization said Saturday, despite the race being dropped from its calendar for next year.

Covid-19 and China's strict travel restrictions prompted the cancellation of the Shanghai event in 2020 and this year. F1 has also not included the race on its 2022 schedule due to "ongoing pandemic conditions".

But that has not stopped it from extending its deal with the world's second-largest economy, which is a major growth market for F1.

"We are very pleased that this new agreement will ensure our fans in China have Formula 1 racing to look forward to in the coming years," F1 said in a statement.

"While we are all disappointed we could not include China on the 2022 calendar ... China will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow and we look forward to being back with the fans as soon as we can," President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

F1 last month released a record 23-race schedule for 2022 that included several events -- such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and Japan -- that were axed this year and in 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent health restrictions.

The Chinese GP, which has been running since 2004, will be replaced by the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on April 24.

The 2022 season will start in Bahrain on March 20 and end back in the Gulf at Abu Dhabi on November 20.

F1 is growing in popularity in China but the world's most populous nation still lacks a home star.

But there are high hopes that hotly tipped youngster Zhou Guanyu will make the leap up from Formula 2.



'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
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'World's Oldest Marathon Runner' Dies Aged 114 in Road Accident

 (FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)
(FILES) Indian-born British national Fauja Singh (C) waves a Hong Kong flag after crossing the finish line in the 10-km event as part of the Hong Kong Marathon on February 24, 2013. (Photo by Dale DE LA REY / AFP)

India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday.

Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday, AFP reported.

"My Turbaned Tornado is no more," Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.

"He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja."

Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.

He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.

His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.

Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.

Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet "laddu" packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.

"Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness," said Modi on X.

"He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."