F1 calendar is slowly taking shape

After months of discussions, the provisional F1, F2 and F3 calendar is slowly taking shape. The season could get underway in Austria on July 5 while the curtain is expected to fall on the 2020 F1 championship in Abu Dhabi on December 13.

Since the F1 championship has been put on hold by the coronavirus epidemic, Formula 1’s Commercial Rights Holder, Liberty Media and its governing body, the FIA have been doing their utmost to establish a curtailed calendar for the 2020 season.

All F2 and F3 teams met online last week to discuss the possible fate of the 2020 championship of Formula-1’s support categories, reported the respected Autosport publication. The race stables are also believed to have received a provisional calendar from the governing body.

The two support series could have a similar calendar in 2020 with F3 expected to miss two rounds. The season could get underway in Austria on July 5 with a second race in Spielberg a week later. With a week pause, the field could head towards Silverstone, Great Britain for another double-header race.

August could see F1 drivers compete at four weekends as a race in Spain or Germany, in Hungary, and in Belgium are also scheduled for the last month of Summer. While Spain is working with Liberty Media on a rescheduled event, Germany’s Hockenheim could step in should the Barcelona race not be possible.

Like Spa, the Italian GP has also kept its original date and is scheduled to take place on September 6. The Azerbaijan and the Russian Grands Prix are likely to be staged at the end of September with the absence of the F3 series. The season could end in December with races planned in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

The provisional F2/F3 calendar features 12 and 10 events respectively, including two double-header races. The Formula 1 schedule could, of course, incorporate other venues that its support series never visit due to the logistical challenges and costs involved.

Among those races could be the Japanese, the United States, the Mexican and the Brazilian Grands Prix while F1 is also working on rescheduling some of the postponed races like the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix.

F1 is currently working hard on putting everything in place for the European races, constantly consulting with different authorities and governments. While the Austrian, British, Hungarian and Italian GP organizers have already confirmed that their events can only take place behind closed doors without fans, there is no confirmation about the shape of the arguably most thrilling event, the Italian GP.

It is also believed that the start and the end of the season could go ahead as planned with the talks between Liberty Media and the tracks being already in an advanced stage. In contrast to that, the races on the American continent are under threat as the coronavirus crisis has hardly shown any signs of improvements with the number of infections and deaths still constantly increasing.

F1’s first night race, the Singapore Grand Prix is also in doubt due to the specific requirements of the events. The country is currently suffering a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic with the number of new infections surpassing 700 last Friday. However, the organizers have revealed that they are open to different possibilities regarding this year’s Singapore GP.

“The Formula 1 calendar for the 2020 season is currently being finalized and Singapore GP has been maintaining an open dialogue with Formula 1, the Singapore Government, and our stakeholders during this time, to assess different possibilities”, said a spokesman for the Grand Prix to Motorsport.com.