F1 unveils European leg of revised 2020 calendar

Formula 1 has revealed the initial plans for its revised 2020 season calendar, with eight European rounds taking place between July and September. 

The campaign will begin with a pair of races in Austria on July 5 and July 12 after the Austrian government approved the plans and cleared the way to ensure the event can take place. 

Following the double-header event in Austria, the F1 paddock will travel directly to Hungary for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which has been moved from its original August 2 date to July 16. 

There will then be a weekend break, before F1 heads to Great Britain for another back-to-back event at Silverstone. 

Silverstone will host two rounds on August 2 and August 9 after the UK government confirmed that elite sports will be exempt from its new 14-day quarantine rules on international arrivals. The second event at Silverstone will be dubbed as the 'Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix'. 

The Spanish Grand Prix - which was due to be held on May 10 - has been rescheduled for August 16 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, before F1 observes a second free weekend.

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 calendar dates.

The plans also include F1's direct feeder series Formula 2 and Formula 3, which will support F1 at each of the opening eight European rounds. 

All of the European-based races will be held behind closed doors and feature strict restrictions for the limited number of personnel in the paddock, with F1 staff kept apart where possible and frequently tested for coronavirus. 

F1 has been working on a new calendar ever since the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the season and forced the opening 10 races to be called off. 

Further details of F1’s plans for the remainder of the 2020 season are expected to be unveiled in due course. 

"Due to the ongoing fluidity of the COVID-19 situation internationally, we 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 we complete our season in December," an F1 statement read. 

Championship officials are aiming to hold races in Asia and the Americas before finishing the campaign in the Middle East in mid-December.