The 2020 F1 in Schools World Finals has been postponed for a second time and relocated to the UK.

The decision comes after the 2021 Australian Grand Prix was postponed after negotiations on quarantine arrangements for teams and officials reached an impasse.

The season-opening race in Melbourne will instead be held in November.

Formula 1 had been in negotiations with the state government to alter arrangements for mandatory quarantine.

Two weeks of quarantine in Australia would have resulted in a clash with pre-season testing in Bahrain, which is where the 2021 Formula 1 season will now begin.

Global COVID surge causing issues

The 2020 F1 in Schools World Finals was scheduled to be hosted in Melbourne in March to coincide with the Australian Grand Prix.

Uncertainty over travel restrictions within Australia was cited as one reason for the relocation to the UK, which is where F1 in Schools is headquartered.

The World Finals will now take place between 4 to 8 June 2021, as teams across the globe face difficulties in preparing for the competition amidst the pandemic.

“Outside of Australia, many students are still being home schooled, challenging their capacity to work in teams and access the resources they need within their classrooms,” said Andrew Denford, founder and chairman of F1 in Schools.

“We felt it only right that we moved the event back a few months to allow everyone to finish their work and thus complete their F1 in Schools journey, which many of them have been on for three or four years.”

The UK is currently in the middle of a national lockdown as the country struggles to contain the new, extremely transmissible variant of COVID-19.

There is currently no end date for the UK national lockdown.

The 2021 F1 in Schools Australian National Finals has also been postponed until the week of 26 April 2021.

The event was originally due to be held jointly with the 2020 World Finals in Melbourne.

Organisers have also confirmed that the event will be held in a virtual capacity, after Victoria declared Sydney a red zone, preventing organisers from travelling to Melbourne.

Peter Russell was Digital Communications and Brand Manager for Infinitude, the F1 in Schools World Record holders.