Frantic schedule designed to offer fans a Silver lining
SILVERSTONE will stage grands prix on consecutive weekends at the start of August after Formula One confirmed European circuits would host the first eight races of its revised calendar.
Meanwhile, Red Bull has been instrumental in Austria’s role in kicking off the delayed season on July 5.
The company’s Austrian co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz says the curtainraiser in Spielberg will ‘send a strong sign of feasibility to the world’.
Both Austria and Britain will host double-headers. Following the Austrian Grand Prix, the second race at the Red Bull Ring is set for July 12 and will be called the Styrian GP, after the region.
Hungary follows a week later on July 19. The British GP will take place on August 2 followed by a second race at the home of British motorsport the following weekend, to be titled the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix in celebration of when Silverstone hosted the firstever round of the F1 world championship in 1950.
That double-header will be followed by races in Spain, Belgium and Italy.
The coronavirus outbreak caused the cancellation of the Australian GP on March 15 and the F1 season has been delayed and under threat ever since, so yesterday’s announcement will come as a big relief to fans. However, they will not be allowed to attend in person. All eight European rounds will be spectator-free events but televised on the usual channels. The minimum number of races needed for 2020 to count as a world championship, according to FIA regulations, is eight. However, they add the season must take place across three continents, so we can expect further rounds in the Middle East, Asia and the Americas later in the year.
F1 chief executive Chase Carey maintains he is targeting 15-18 races, to be completed in December in Abu Dhabi.
The grandstands will remain empty until at least September. Teams and organisers are being ordered to reduce the number of staff in attendance, and they will be kept distanced from other personnel throughout the weekends.
To minimise risk, drivers’ briefings will be conducted by video conferencing, even when they are all assembled at the same track.
The UK and other governments are providing the sport with a workaround to avoid participants quarantining after travel, on the understanding everyone attending the events follows a regular private Covid-testing programme and flies on charter planes.
F1 states it has ‘learnt a lot since Australia’ – where several personnel tested positive for Covid-19 – and procedures and safeguards are now in place. With only essential personnel in attendance, the atmosphere will be very different.
The usual pre and post-race ceremonies will be significantly altered to ensure social distancing is upheld and that the tone of the event is right.
With safety the No.1 priority, the usual formalities need to be altered, but F1 promises the broadcast spectacle will be as exciting as ever.