32 GP RACING JULY 2020
Since F1 went into lockdown, championship CEO Chase Carey
has consistently stated his ambition to hold between 15 and 18 grands prix
in 2020, though the fluid nature of a global pandemic means it may not be
possible to hit that number.
In early June, Formula 1 released dates forthe first eight races: an
Austrian double-header at the Red Bull
Ring, a race in Hungary, then another
double-header at Silverstone, the Spanish
Grand Prix at Barcelona, followed
by races in Belgium and Italy.
This constitutes the initial European
leg of a truncated calendar. To qualify as
a proper world championship F1 would
ordinarily need to visit at leasttwo more
continents, meaning the season couldn’t
end with September’s race at Monza
lest it be scrubbed from official records. But F1’s managing director of
motorsports Ross Brawn suggests this requirementwill be relaxed given
the extraordinary circumstances, thus these eight races would constitute a
minimum viable ‘world’ championship.The situation remains understandably fluid. The saga of the British
Grand Prix has been particularly vexatious for fans hoping to see a
return to racing: the originally mooted July dates were pushed back
to August to give F1 the maximum chance to either complywith,
or be exempted from, the UK’s recently imposed 14-day mandatory
quarantine on overseas travellers.
Where F1 races after Monza remains a work in progress at the time of
writing. Some events initially postponed as coronavirus took hold – such
as Bahrain, China and Vietnam – still hope to host events later in the year.
Monaco was the first after Australia to officially cancel for 2020, followed by
France, and Azerbaijan, Japan and Singapore have recently joined that club.
Canada, although not yetcancelled, faces pressure due to the Canadian
winter. The latest a Canadian race has been held, in 1978, was 8 October.
Organisers of the revived DutchGP at Zandvoort have said they won’t
hold a race while no fans are permitted, given that would fatally undermine
the basis of an event bidding to ride the orange wave created by Max
Verstappen’spresence on the grid. Hockenheim, Imola,Mugel lo and
Portimao are touted as venues that could step in at short notice if required.
The Mexican GP reiterated a commitment to hosting F1 ontheir original
date of 1 November, while reports suggest F1 willlook to hold anotherFormula 1 will finallyget under
way with back-to-back races in
Austria this weekend and next,but the championship has been
forcedtomaketough choicesto ensure it can function
responsibly while COVID-19
continuesto ravage the planet.Ahead of the first race, we
attemptto explain thekeyaspects of F1 2020 2.0
WORDSBEN ANDERSON PICTURESF1 IS
GO!
HOW MANY
RACES WILL
THERE BE?
MERCEDES
PICTURES:ANTONIN VINCENT;STEVE ETHERINGTON/MERCEDES32 GP RACING JULY 2020
Since F1 went into lockdown, championship CEO Chase Carey
has consistently stated his ambition to hold between 15 and 18 grands prix
in 2020, though the fluid nature of a global pandemic means it may not be
possible to hit that number.
In early June, Formula 1 released dates forthe first eight races: an
Austrian double-header at the Red Bull
Ring, a race in Hungary, then another
double-header at Silverstone, the Spanish
Grand Prix at Barcelona, followed
by races in Belgium and Italy.
This constitutes the initial European
leg of a truncated calendar. To qualify as
a proper world championship F1 would
ordinarily need to visit at leasttwo more
continents, meaning the season couldn’t
end with September’s race at Monza
lest it be scrubbed from official records. But F1’s managing director of
motorsports Ross Brawn suggests this requirementwill be relaxed given
the extraordinary circumstances, thus these eight races would constitute a
minimum viable ‘world’ championship.The situation remains understandably fluid. The saga of the British
Grand Prix has been particularly vexatious for fans hoping to see a
return to racing: the originally mooted July dates were pushed back
to August to give F1 the maximum chance to either complywith,
or be exempted from, the UK’s recently imposed 14-day mandatory
quarantine on overseas travellers.
Where F1 races after Monza remains a work in progress at the time of
writing. Some events initially postponed as coronavirus took hold – such
as Bahrain, China and Vietnam – still hope to host events later in the year.
Monaco was the first after Australia to officially cancel for 2020, followed by
France, and Azerbaijan, Japan and Singapore have recently joined that club.
Canada, although not yetcancelled, faces pressure due to the Canadian
winter. The latest a Canadian race has been held, in 1978, was 8 October.
Organisers of the revived DutchGP at Zandvoort have said they won’t
hold a race while no fans are permitted, given that would fatally undermine
the basis of an event bidding to ride the orange wave created by Max
Verstappen’spresence on the grid. Hockenheim, Imola,Mugel lo and
Portimao are touted as venues that could step in at short notice if required.
The Mexican GP reiterated a commitment to hosting F1 ontheir original
date of 1 November, while reports suggest F1 willlook to hold anotherFormula 1 will finally get under
way with back-to-back races in
Austria this weekend and next,but the championship has been
forcedto maketough choicestoensure it can function
responsibly whileCOVID-19
continuesto ravage the planet.Ahead of the first race, we
attempttoexplain the keyaspects of F1 20202.0
WORDSBEN ANDERSON PICTURESF1 IS
GO!
HOW MANY
RACES WILL
THERE BE?
MERCEDES
PICTURES:ANTONIN VINCENT;STEVE ETHERINGTON/MERCEDES