02/06/2020
NEWS STORY
F1 has today confirmed the first 8 rounds of its revised 2020 calendar, as expected there are double-headers in Austria and Britain.
After racing was put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak, F1, the teams and the FIA have been working to put together a plan to allow the season to begin safely, and today F1 chief executive Chase Carey outlined the first part of a revised calendar of races.
All the races will be supported by Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships.
The second race in Austria has been designated the Styrian Grand Prix, while, in a move that will not be well received by Mike Lawrence, the second race at Silverstone is designated the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, in recognition of the 70th Anniversary of the first Formula 1 race to be held at Silverstone in 1950, according to the FIA.
Due to the ongoing fluidity of the COVID-19 situation internationally, F1 will be finalising the details of the wider calendar and hope to publish that in the coming weeks with an expectation of having a total of 15-18 races before completing the season in December.
F1 currently expect the opening races to be closed events but hope fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.
The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority number one, with Formula 1 and the FIA having a robust and detailed plan to ensure the races maintain the highest level of safety with strict procedures in place.
"In the past weeks we have been working tirelessly with all our partners, the FIA and the teams to create a revised opening 2020 calendar allowing us to restart racing in the safest possible way," said Chase Carey.
"We are pleased to be able to set out our opening eight race calendar today and look forward to publishing our full calendar in the coming weeks.
"I want to thank every promoter and partner for their support and ongoing commitment to Formula 1.
"While we currently expect the season to commence without fans at our races we hope that over the coming months the situation will allow us to welcome them back once it is safe to do, but we know the return of Formula 1 will be a welcome boost to sports fans around the world."
| Date | Race | Circuit |
| 05-Jul | Austria | Spielberg |
| 12-Jul | Austria | Spielberg |
| 19-Jul | Hungary | Budapest |
| 02-Aug | Great Britain | Silverstone |
| 09-Aug | Great Britain | Silverstone |
| 16-Aug | Spain | Barcelona |
| 30-Aug | Belgium | Spa Francorchamps |
| 06-Sep | Italy | Monza |