Positive news in UK for F1 officials

FORMULA One officials have welcomed steps taken by the UK Government as it prepares to unveil a European calendar which will include two races to be staged at Silverstone this summer.

The Northamptonshire circuit, pictured above, is poised to host back-to-back races on the weekends of August 2 and August 9 as part of an eight-race calendar to be announced this morning.

Those British races were initially pencilled in for July, but were moved back due to concerns regarding a quarantine period for international travellers arriving into the UK, due to begin on June 8.

However, elite sports events, such as F1, are set to be exempt from the quarantine period.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has listed Formula One alongside the likes of football and racing as sports that are “set to return to our screens shortly”.

An F1 spokesperson said: “We welcome the government’s efforts to ensure elite sport can continue to operate and their support for our return to racing.

“We will maintain a close dialogue with them in the coming weeks as we prepare to start our 2020 season in the first week of July.”

The season, originally due to have begun in Australia in March, is now set to begin with back-toback races at Austria’s Spielberg circuit on July 5 and 12, followed then by a Hungarian Grand Prix on July 19.

Following the double-header at Silverstone, further races in Spain, Belgium and Italy are expected to follow.

All the initial races will be held behind closed doors and teams will operate with the minimum of personnel.

A minimum of eight races are required to constitute a world championship.