New 2020 F1 calendar set to begin with eight European races

Formula 1’s revised 2020 calendar is set to feature eight European rounds between July and September.

The latest version of F1’s schedule for the European leg of the 2020 season is expected to be unveiled next week, potentially as early as Monday.

F1’s original 2020 calendar has been decimated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has forced the season to be put on ice with all racing activities suspended until July at the earliest.

The opening 10 races have been called off, with the planned Dutch, Monaco, Canadian and French rounds cancelled altogether.

F1 hopes to get the heavily-delayed season off the ground with a series of behind closed doors double-header rounds in Europe within a controlled “biosphere” environment, which would see a limited number of paddock personnel frequently tested for coronavirus.

It has now emerged which races are set to feature on the revised European leg of the campaign.

The 2020 season is set to begin on July 5 in Austria, with the Red Bull Ring staging a second consecutive race a week later on July 12.

The Hungarian Grand Prix, which was originally scheduled for August 2, is expected to move forward to a July 19 slot to allow F1 personnel to travel directly from Austria to Hungary.

Such a move would bypass any complications caused by the UK government’s new quarantine restrictions on international arrivals, with F1 originally intending to head to Britain for a pair of back-to-back races on July 19 and August 2 at Silverstone.

F1 looked set to abandon plans for the Silverstone races after failing to gain exemption from the 14-day self-isolation rules, however, an 11th hour bid to save the British Grand Prix was launched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is keen for a solution to be found.

The intervention from Downing Street could enable the Silverstone double-header event to go ahead after all. F1 has reserved new dates on August 2 and August 9 for the races to take place, providing personnel are permitted to travel freely at that time.

Should the plans fall through, Hockenheim could step in to replace Silverstone after holding talks with F1 about the possibility of staging races this year, despite the German Grand Prix not being on the original calendar.

A rescheduled Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya would follow Silverstone’s pair of races on August 16, three months after it was meant to be held.

Two further European rounds are set to take place at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Monza in Italy on August 30 and September 6, with both events retaining their original dates.

Such a schedule would mean there would be just two free weekends without F1 races between the three-month spell of July 5 and September 6.

It is understood that F1’s direct feeder series, Formula 2 and Formula 3, are set to join all the aforementioned European rounds to get their respective campaigns underway.

After the European leg of the revamped championship, F1 bosses aim to hold races in Asia and the Americas before finishing the season in the Middle East.

The Singapore Grand Prix is expected to join the list of cancelled 2020 races, with Azerbaijan being lined up to take Singapore’s slot on September 30, one week before the Russian Grand Prix on September 27.

F1 is keen to also reschedule rounds in Vietnam and China after both were postponed from their original dates in April as work continues to formalise the back-end of the campaign. The Vietnam GP round could be staged in November. 

Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will then conclude the season in December.