Canadian Grand Prix during qualifying for the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix. On 7 October 2008, the Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from the Formula One calendar, which left the Montreal race off the list for the first time since . In the provisional 2009 schedule released in June 2008, the Canadian Grand Prix was to have been held on 7 June, a date taken by the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix in the revised schedule. Since the United States Grand Prix was dropped after 2007, this meant that in 2009 no Formula One race was held in North America for the first time since
1981 Formula One World Championship reasons: it was effectively the first season that Briton and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone and FOCA had the Concorde Agreement in place, which would set Formula One on a course to become a profitable business, thanks to the growing professional involvement of outside companies and professional sponsorship. The South African Grand Prix, held on 7 February at the Kyalami Circuit near Johannesburg, was originally supposed to be the first round of the 1981 Formula One World Championship – but it was eventually stripped of its championship status. The ongoing FISA–FOCA war resulted in Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA)