How the 2020 F1 calendar might change after coronavirus postpones races
F1 News
Following the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix, the next five races are also in doubt due to the coronavirus outbreak. The FIA and the teams are looking at how as many races as possible can still be run this season.
The very first race we'll see in 2020 is most likely on June 7 in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku. This means that the races to be held in Bahrain, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco will not take place or have to be replaced in the calendar.
Monaco appears to be cancelled for the first time since 1954. It is an almost impossible task to close the streets of the Principality on a different weekend than the last of May. For Spain, the only conceivable solution seems to be a shift to the summer break in August. However, most local services in Spain are on holiday in August, and the race will sell poorly around that time.
As Olav Mol previously reported on Twitter, there is a good chance that Abu Dhabi or Bahrain can be rolled over to January 2021, where racing can still take place in those countries.
How the calendar might look:
Azerbaijan - June 7
Canada - June 14
France - June 28
Austria - July 5
Great Britain - July 19
Hungary - August 2
Netherlands - August 23
Belgium - August 30
Italy - September 6
Singapore - September 20
Russia - September 27
China - October 11
Vietnam - October 18
Japan - October 25
United States - November 8
Mexico - November 22
Brazil - November 29
Bahrain - December 13
Abu Dhabi - January 10, 2021
It will be a logistical nightmare with many 'double-headers' and even 'triple-headers'. Also, with this calendar, we will be racing until January 2021. If the rules of 2021 are postponed and the cars of 2020 are used for two years, as previously suggested, the teams will have to work less in the factories during the winter break. The winter break will almost expire in its entirety if testing takes place in February before 2021.