Formula 1: New race target set for 2020 season
By Asher Fair
Formula 1 is now targeting between 15 and 18 races on the 2020 schedule with the coronavirus pandemic having resulted in many changes in plans.
The 2020 Formula 1 season was scheduled to get underway with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, March 15.
There were scheduled to be two races in the books as of today, Tuesday, March 24, with the Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit scheduled to take place just one week after the season opener on Sunday, March 22.
But neither race happened, and none of the next six will happen on their scheduled dates, either.
More from Formula One
- Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
- Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
- Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
- Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
- Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in what was a record-breaking 22-race schedule to be drastically altered. The season is now not scheduled to get underway until Sunday, June 14 with the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
It had been slated to start on Sunday, June 7 with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit, but race organizers decided to postponed the event after Formula 1 axed all races through the end of May, the last of which being the Monaco Grand Prix at Circuit de Monaco, which hasn’t not been on the schedule since the 1954 season.
Formula 1 postponements and cancellations: TRACKER
It is anybody’s guess as to not only whether or not the start date of Sunday, June 14 will remain but for how long this particular date will go without changing.
When will the 2020 Formula 1 season start? TRACKER
There are currently just 14 races remaining on the 2020 schedule from this date in mid-June to the scheduled season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, November 29.
2020 Formula 1 schedule: TRACKER
But according to Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey, there are now plans to extend the season beyond this end date of Sunday, November 27 and fit in somewhere between 15 and 18 races.
Here is what Carey had to say in a statement, according to Formula 1.
"“Over the past week, Formula 1, the ten F1 teams and the FIA have come together and taken rapid, decisive action as part of our initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While at present no-one can be certain of exactly when the situation will improve, it will improve and when it does, we will be ready to go racing again. We are all committed to bringing our fans a 2020 Championship Season.“We recognize there is significant potential for additional postponements in currently scheduled events, nonetheless we and our partners fully expect the season to start at some point this summer, with a revised calendar of between 15-18 races.“As previously announced we will utilize the summer break being brought forward to March/April to race during the normal summer break period, and anticipate the season end date will extend beyond our original end date of 27-29th November, with the actual sequence and schedule dates for races differing significantly from our original 2020 calendar.“It is not possible to provide a more specific calendar now due to the fluidity of the current situation but we expect to gain clearer insights to the situation in each of our host countries, as well as the issues related to travel to these countries, in the coming month.”"
Of the eight races removed from the schedule, only two have actually been canceled, with those two being the Australian Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Vietnamese Grand Prix at Hanoi Street Circuit, the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit, the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort, the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have only been postponed.
Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark. Next
Factoring in only the cancellations, however, that would reduce the 2020 Formula 1 schedule from 22 races down to 20, so at least two of the races that have been postponed will also unfortunately likely end up being canceled. But only time will time, and nobody really has any answers at this point. For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.