Formula 1 Season Set to Start in Austria July 2020

Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey announces the 2020 Formula 1 racing season is set to start in Austria with a targeted start date of 3-5 July 2020.

Since the abrupt cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cancellations, race fans around the world have been waiting and wondering when teams will be allowed back to the track this year (if at all) and it appears the answer has arrived sooner than later.

In a statement released by Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey this week, the racing organization is continuing with plans to commence racing from this July with the first Grand Prix of the season being held in Austria July 3-5.

“All of our plans are obviously subject to change as we still have many issues to address and all of us are subject to the unknowns of the virus” Chase Carey commented. “ We all want the world to return to the one we know and cherish, yet we recognise it must be done in the right and safest way. We look forward to doing our part by enabling our fans to once again safely share the excitement of Formula 1 with family, friends, and the broader community.”

While teams are set to resume regular racing activities, the initial races will be held without fans and only be viewable via broadcast. F1 organizers are hopeful however that fans will be able to participate once again later on in the schedule.

Although the French Grand Prix to be held in June has already been canceled (along with the Monaco Grand Prix), the remaining European races are tentatively scheduled to proceed from July to early September before all teams continue on to the Eurasia, Asia and America’s race events between September and November and finish off the season with Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in December.

While the 2020 race season was originally scheduled to see drivers complete 22 races, organizers are now looking to safely complete between 15-18 races instead given the dramatically different circumstances under which this season is being held.

The final calendar is still yet to be published and is still reliant on each individual track owner’s willingness to participate dependent on their own countries restrictions.

The upheaval of the 2020 race season has also meant that new regulations regarding teams cost caps and race car designs that were set to come into play in the 2021 season will now be delayed until 2022.