Formula 1 has been cut to two days from the start of its 2020 season, but the Australian Grand Prix has been canceled late, and it will be a while before racing resumes.
The first eight rounds of the year have been postponed or canceled, from Australia to Azerbaijan, while doubts remain as to the events at the start of the summer. But how many Grands Prix does F1 need to validate the 2020 championship?
President and CEO of F1, Chase Carey said last week that he expects a calendar of 15 or 16 races for this year, starting this summer and lasting until December. However, according to Article 5.4 of the Sporting Regulations, eight Grand Prix is enough for a Champion to be crowned. These same Regulations set the maximum number of races at 22 and have been modified for 2020 to allow the addition of an additional event to the calendar.
Formula 1 must also comply with another clause to maintain its World Championship status, according to the FIA International Sporting Code: Article 2.4.3.bi states that the calendar must include races taking place on at least three continents during the same season. For example, the 2019-2020 edition of the World Endurance Championship retains this title, having raced in Europe (Silverstone), Asia (Fuji, Shanghai, Bahrain) and North America (Austin).
Director of Scuderia Ferrari, Mattia Binotto recently revealed that a “Super Season” extending until January 2021 and two-day Grand Prix weekends are planned. In addition, the teams have agreed to keep their 2020 cars in 2021 in order to reduce costs, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic promising to be painful. This will theoretically allow them to start the 2021 season after a shorter than usual offseason.
At the time of writing, the Grand Prix of Canada is supposed to take place on June 14, before the first European races in France (June 28) and Austria (July 5), although doubt remains with this crisis. which does not seem close to a resolution.
The Silverstone circuit leaders have confirmed that they will make a decision by the end of April as to whether or not to hold the British Grand Prix on July 19. Major sporting events such as Euro 2020 football (June 12 to July 12) and the Tokyo Olympics (July 24 to August 9) have already been postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic.
See as well :
–
