Right then, take two. A whole 114 days after the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled just hours before practice was set to start, due to several team members testing positive for Covid-19, the 2020 F1 season will finally begin in Austria this weekend.
The season in which the Formula 1 World Championship celebrates its 70th anniversary is shaping up to be one of the most unusual in history. Such is sport – well, life, really – in the clichéd new normal.
There are always a host of unknowns going into a season, but they usually surround how various teams and drivers will perform. On this occasion, it wasn’t exactly clear as the teams arrived at the Red Bull Ring for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix which circuits they will be racing on and when, or exactly how many races there will be.
Meanwhile, the financial impact of the crisis will be reflected in the introduction of a new cost cap and restrictions on technical developments, with the ripple effects reshaping both the medium and long-term future of the sport.
While the off-track issues have been to the fore, there is still plenty of intrigue in what could happen on the circuit, headlined by British star Lewis Hamilton’s quest for a record-equalling seventh championship.
Here are the key issues to consider ahead of the 2020 season.
The calendar: eight races confirmed - so far
At the time of writing, F1 bosses have confirmed an eight-race schedule using six European circuits. It comprises double-headers in Austria in July and at Silverstone in August, plus races in Spain, Hungary, Belgium and Italy. Fans will not initially be permitted at events, although F1 bosses are hoping they might be allowed to return later this season.
The back-to-back races in Austria and Silverstone will each be held one week apart. The second Austrian event will be labelled the Styrian Grand Prix (after the region of Austria the Red Bull Ring is in), while the second race at Silverstone will be the Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix - a nod to the Northamptonshire track hosting the first championship race back in 1950.
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Great to have it back
FastRenaultFan wrote:
LMAO!!!!!!!
Haha! Aesome! Inception-level trolling right there!
Will it still be deadly dull?
Answers on a postcard please.....
Answer is
no, and I saved the price of a stamp and postcard
Suck it and see.
So, F1 is back, and nobody really cares, well, not on Autocars web page anyway, why is this?, what is so boring about this form of car racing?, is Soccer not any more boring week in week out, Tv schedule re- arranged to squeeze in extra matches at odd times of the evening, doesn't that seem boring?, here we have F1 with a British interest, someone with a chance to equal what was thought to be impossible, seven titles, he'll be the best Brit driver in F1 racing history, I just find it strange that F1 gets so little coverage, interest on this site.
Peter Cavellini wrote:
Eh?
If you think the excitement and appeal of sport is a function of the TV schedule...