General

'Extended F1 calendar will be announced during the first Grand Prix'

24 June 2020 at 16:57
  • GPblog.com

The goal of Formula 1 was to finalize the rest of the calendar before the end of June, but it doesn't look like that is feasible. This has to do with the uncertain situation in Asia and America, which would make it a little too premature to definitively plan races. A complete calendar is expected to follow later.

Additional calendar

However, we can expect an update in a week and a half at the time of the first Grand Prix. Auto, Motor und Sport writes that based on sources. The German site reports that the F1 managers would like to announce the details of the further calendar during the first Grand Prix. This means that we will then be told which races will follow Monza.

It is very likely that Mugello will organize a Grand Prix immediately after Monza, but after that it will be a bit cloudy. Formula 1 is expected to be more specific next weekend, with Hockenheim, Sochi and Portimao being contenders. Although the situation in Russia is still a bit too unpredictable.

What is the biggest bottleneck to make a good planning, is that many countries are still working with a travel restriction. As this is subject to the pandemic, it is not possible to plan for the long term, partly because there is no vaccine against corona yet. The effect of this is that the European season will be further extended, as can be read here.

Final chapter

The end of the season will take place in the Middle East. Although there are no concrete dates for the races in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, the Grands Prix will be the finale there. So it is mainly the piece after the last race in Europe and the end of the season. That is what is the most difficult factor in setting the calendar, given that several countries are still too risky at the moment.

AMuS writes that the Canadian Grand Prix scheduled for June may be overtaken in October and that this race will be combined with the United States Grand Prix in Austin. The triple header with Mexico is now at risk again, as the virus is becoming more and more prevalent there. Brazil is the same, which is one of the worst affected countries in the world.

So that part of the calendar is likely to be uncertain for some time to come. However, if the information from AMuS is correct, we will soon get more clarity about what the rest of the season will look like in Europe.