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South Korea out of the F1

January 6, 2015

In and out: Having been named on the original 2015 race calendar, South Korea will now no longer be a part of the new Formula One season after struggling with financial problems.

https://p.dw.com/p/1EFuM
Formel 1 Südkorea 2013
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Azubel

South Korea will no longer host a Formula One race in the 2015 season. The sport's governing body, the FIA. released a document on their homepage listing only 20 of 21 race tracks. At the start of December, South Korea were surprisingly nominated to be the fifth race of the year, with the event expected to take place on May 3.

A spokesman confirmed to the BBC that South Korea was chosen at the wishes of F1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone but was removed because of a lack of plausibility.

The decision surprised even the hosts at the time. "The FIA revealed this news even though we had already stated our difficulty in hosting a race next year," was the statement from South Korea.

The organisers are suffering from the sheer cost of being a race city. Between 2010 and 2013, those in charge of the event suffered a 170-million euro ($202.12 million) loss. On top of that, even the race teams are opposed to an inflated race calendar.

jh/asz (sid, dpa)