Race Weekend Central

Formula 1 May Not Begin Its Season Until the Summer

Formula 1’s 2020 season may not start until the summer.

Per a March 23 release by F1 CEO Chase Carey, the Formula 1 sanctioning body is aiming to have 15-18 events on the revised schedule for the 2020 championship season, which it’s currently aiming to kick off in the summer.

F1 is hesitantly aiming to begin racing in what would have been the summer break on the normal schedule before a slew of races were either postponed or canceled from their regularly scheduled date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Six of the eight races that have been affected have been listed as postponed, while the Australian Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix have been officially scratched from the 2020 schedule.

Although F1 has said it is working diligently to give fans a modified season, the exact venues and dates of the revised calendar have not been disclosed. The earliest event still slated to run as scheduled is the Canadian Grand Prix set for June 14.

“While at present no-one can be certain of exactly when the situation will improve, it will improve and when it does, we will be ready to go racing again,” Carey said in the release. “We are all committed to bringing our fans a 2020 Championship Season.”

While organizers scramble to put a plan in place, F1 has stated it will remain vigilant of the health and safety of all involved with the entity under the council of health professionals.

“Between Formula 1, the teams and the FIA, working with our key stakeholders, we are planning and fully committed to returning to the track at the earliest opportunity to commence the 2020 season,” Carey added. “We will continue to take advice from health officials and experts, as our first priority continues to be the safety and health of our fans, the communities we visit and those within the Formula 1 family.”

While live racing is sidelined, F1 has organized official eSports races and other content featuring drivers and other well-known personalities. While the organization tries to make do, Carey is confident we will see actual racing this year.

“We’re confident we’ll all get through this and see better days, ahead, and, when we do, we will ensure that everyone invested in this sport at every level feels rewarded.”

About the author

Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.

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