3 Jun 2020

Formula One season to start in Austria

5:57 am on 3 June 2020

Formula One will start its delayed season in Austria on 5 July with eight races in Europe over the space of 10 weeks.

Lewis Hamilton wins the 2019 British F1 grand prix at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton wins the 2019 British F1 grand prix at Silverstone. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

It will be the first time Austria's Red Bull Ring has hosted a season-opener.

Races will also be held without spectators and with more than one grand prix at the same circuit.

The season, which originally envisaged a record 22 races, has been stalled since the 15 March Australian opener was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first race of the year will now be in Austria on 5 July with a second, designated the Grand Prix of Steiermark (Styria) after the region in which the Red Bull-owned circuit at Spielberg is located, a week later.

It will be the first time a circuit has hosted two championship races in the same season, the first time a season has started in Austria and also the first time a race has been held behind closed doors.

The 10 teams will then travel east to race on a third successive weekend at Budapest's Hungaroring on 19 July before returning home, all under carefully controlled conditions.

Silverstone, which hosted the first F1 world championship race in 1950, is scheduled for the British Grand Prix on 2 August followed by the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix on 9 August.

A two week quarantine is due to come into force in Britain for most arrivals in the country from June 8 but Formula One is set to be part of an exemption for elite sports events.

Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya will then host the Spanish Grand Prix on 16 August to complete the triple-header before another break and then two more back-to-back races at Spa in Belgium and Italy's Monza on 30 August and 6 September.

Formula Two and Formula Three races will also be held over the same weekends.

"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," said Formula One chairman Chase Carey in a statement.

"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," he added.

Formula One is hoping to host between 15 and 18 races with the season ending in Abu Dhabi in December after also racing in Bahrain.

Four races have been cancelled so far - Australia, Monaco, the Netherlands and France - while China, Azerbaijan, Canada and Vietnam are awaiting rescheduling.

Races in Singapore, Russia, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Brazil remain uncertain.

"The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority number one, with Formula One and the FIA having a robust and detailed plan to ensure our races maintain the highest level of safety with strict procedures in place," Formula One said.

-Reuters