Formula One has been given the green light to rev its engines and accelerate towards the start of a season, this week.
The dates for eight races set to take place across Europe, starting on July 3, have been confirmed.
The Formula One season was due to kick off in Melbourne back in March before it was cancelled at the 11th hour.
With football finally being given the go ahead to hold fixtures behind closed doors in a safe and controlled manner, being one of the world’s most popular and influential sports, second only to the afore mentioned football, Formula 1 too will follow suit and is looking to hold its first race in the month of July.
The sport has come to a conclusion that several of the Grand Prix’s will have to be held as double header race’s, with the Austrian Grand Prix being its first location approving the two-race format at the Red Bull Ring on the 5th and 12th of next month.
The First 8 Rounds of the 2020 Calendar
| Race | Venue | Date |
| Formula 1 Rolex Grosser Preis von Osterreich | The Red Bull Ring, Austria | July 3-5 |
| Formula 1 Pirelli Grosser Preis der Steiermark | The Red Bull Ring, Austria | July 10-12 |
| Formula 1 Aramco Magyar Nagydij | The Hungaroring, Hungary | July 17-19 |
| Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix | Silverstone, UK | July 31 – August 2 |
| Emirates Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix | Silverstone, UK | August 7-9 |
| Formula 1 Aramco Gran Premio de Espana | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain | August 14-16 |
| Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium | August 28-30 |
| Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken d’Italia | Monza, Italy | September 4-6 |
This news is significant in the motorsport world given that Formula 1 will celebrate its 70th Anniversary since its inception this year, with the anniversary race being held at the iconic Silverstone Circuit, where the sports inaugural race was held, all the way back in 1950.
Chief Executive of Formula 1, Chase Carey had also released a message on the F1 website recently stating that holding ‘Reverse Grid’ races for some of the double header events had as qualifying sprint races have also been considered which prior to this was unheard of in the sport.
In conjunction, the sports officials have released their five-step guide to ensuring the activities of the sport are conducted safely while ensuring to uphold the standards set by each Grand Prix location.
The 5 steps to safe racing
- Formula 1 have assured the nation states that they will continue to conduct COVID19 tests by working closely with certified and private testing partners.
- The prior understanding of all races to be held behind closed doors will stand, with the events being ‘Closed Events’.
- A sport that usually involves personnel of over a thousand will be significantly reduced to only essential staff to be involved with the travelling circus that is Formula 1.
- Travel is also set to be isolated, with teams and officials expected to charter private flights as much as possible while maintaining a certain degree of isolation and restricted ‘bubble’.
- Finally, all teams have been encouraged to practice strict social distancing where possible and as a result, post-race ceremonies seeing the need to be altered accordingly.
Amidst all these rules and the persisting world health crisis, as fans it is amazing news to hear that the crown jewel of motorsport will finally be getting underway, even if it is in a limited format.
In the UK, Sky Sports F1 have been granted the license to broadcast and cover all the events that will take place accordingly.
By Randev Jayasinha