F1 confirms 2020 season start date at Australian Grand Prix

The 2020 Formula 1 world championship will begin at the Australian Grand Prix on March 15^th, as the sport prepares to celebrate its 70^th anniversary.

While next year’s full Formula 1 race calendar has been delayed due to ongoing contract negotiations with a number of venues, the 2020 campaign will start in familiar surroundings at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix on March 12-15.

The race will start the 70^th year of the F1 world championship and also celebrate the 25^th year of F1 in Melbourne after the race was switched from Adelaide in 1996.

The rest of the 2020 F1 race calendar remains unconfirmed but will welcome the new Vietnam Grand Prix plus the return of the Dutch Grand Prix. Currently, the Mexican, Spanish, German and British rounds all have uncertain futures with existing deals set to expire at the end of this season.

“We are pleased to announce that, as has been the case for many years now, the next FIA Formula 1 world championship season will get underway in Melbourne,” Chase Carey, F1 Chairman and CEO, said. “The Albert Park circuit is one of the most popular venues on the calendar, much appreciated by everyone who works in Formula 1.

“The enthusiastic reception from the Australian fans makes this round really unique and special. There can be no better place to start the 2020 season, which will be significant as the sport will celebrate its 70th anniversary.”

The March 12-15 date for the 2020 Australian Grand Prix coincides with the country’s Labour Day weekend and avoids clashing with the opening weekend of the start of the Australian Football League season which starts the weekend after.