F1 news: F1 announces first eight races of revised 2020 calendar

Formula 1 has revealed an eight-race schedule for the opening European leg of the 2020 world championship.

As predicted last week, it includes double-headers at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone plus single events at four other venues. 

The second Austrian race will be the Steiermark GP, and the second Silverstone race will mark the 70th anniversary of F1.

An F1 statement said: “Due to the ongoing fluidity of the COVID-19 situation internationally, we will be finalising the details of the wider calendar and hope to publish that in the coming weeks with an expectation of having a total of 15-18 races before we complete our season in December.

“As stated previously we currently expect the opening races to be closed events but hope fans will be able to join our events again when it is safe to do so.”

As expected, the postponed Spanish GP has a new mid-August slot, while Hungary has moved forward by two weeks from its original date. Belgium and Italy retain their established spots on the calendar.

The Silverstone races remain subject to compliance with UK government requirements.

F1 boss Chase Carey said: “In the past weeks we have been working tirelessly with all our partners, the FIA and the teams to create a revised opening 2020 calendar allowing us to restart racing in the safest possible way.

“We are pleased to be able to set out our opening eight race calendar today and look forward to publishing our full calendar in the coming weeks. I want to thank every promoter and partner for their support and ongoing commitment to Formula 1.

“While we currently expect the season to commence without fans at our races we hope that over the coming months the situation will allow us to welcome them back once it is safe to do, but we know the return of Formula 1 will be a welcome boost to sports fans around the world.”

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