Korea has been removed from the latest 2015 calendar issued by F1’s governing body.
Insiders were initially stunned early in December when next year’s schedule featured an unprecedented 21 grand prix dates and the return of a race in unpopular South Korea.
Korean organisers played down the inclusion and even Bernie Ecclestone admitted it was unlikely, as experts explained it was probably a mere ’trick’ to trigger a loophole in the long-life engine use rules for 2015.
But at the latest Strategy Group meeting, the engine rule loophole was closed, and in the hours before Christmas the FIA issued a definitive 2015 calendar on which Korea does not feature.
However, the final 2015 calendar does declare that next year’s world championship will be played out over "21 competitions", even though only 20 races are subsequently listed.