The Coronavirus pandemic had postponed all the sporting activities which include Formula 1 as well. But things are better now, so after a long debate, F1 is starting its 2020 season with the Austrian GP on 3rd-5th July.
F1 has confirmed a schedule of 8 races but intends to add more races in the future so that there are 15-20 races in the 2020 season.
Formula 1: Confirmed Race Calendar
5th July: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
12th July: Styrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
19th July: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)
2nd August: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
9th August: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone)
16th August: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
30th August: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
6th September: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
The Austrian GP will start by taking the knee from the drivers on the grid, to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
All the Formula 1 races will be held behind closed doors and severe limitations introduced with a new paddock protocol forbidding meetings.
Here’s some of the new rules as F1 starts:
- As racing returns, the COVID-19 virus remains in circulation, which requires all participants to be analyzed before travelling to Austria on chartered jets, ongoing tests, the separation of teams and car crews into bubbles, and controlled resorts.
- Teams are cut to a max of 80 employees, all in protective equipment, there’ll be no sponsors, no guests and just a limited number of licensed broadcast and written news media.
- Journalists, limited to a dozen instead of 300 or more, need to pass a test in 3 days in advance of arrival and won’t be permitted to leave the media centre. All interviews and news conferences will take place by video.
- There will be no podium ceremony.
When the race begins on 3rd July at the Austrian GP, it’ll end the longest gap between races in the sport since 1962.
If you’re from India, you can catch all the live action of the 2020 F1 season on Star Sports SELECT & Disney+ Hotstar. Star Sports India are the exclusive broadcasting partner of F1 in the Indian sub-continent.
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