Formula 1 confirms first eight races of the season

Formula 1 has confirmed that the 2020 season will get underway in Austria on July 3-5, after announcing the schedule for the first eight races.

Racing has been on hold since March due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the FIA has confirmed that racing can go ahead from July, with the Red Bull Ring hosting the first two rounds.

The second round in Austria will be held on July 10-12, with the third race of the season due to be held at the Hungaroring in Budapest a week later.

Silverstone will then hold the next two races at the end of July through to August 9, with the second race at the circuit named Emirates Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

The Spanish Grand Prix was due to be the first round in Europe before the pandemic halted proceedings, but they have re-scheduled their race for August 16, with the Belgian Grand Prix taking place two weeks later.

The Italian Grand Prix is the final of the eight races currently confirmed, and is due to be held on September 4-6.

Although only eight races have been confirmed so far, Formula 1 expects to announce additional races in the coming weeks and is still targeting a 15-18 race season.

Racing will initially be held behind closed doors in order to ensure the safety of teams and fans, but the series hopes to have spectators at races later in the year.

Speaking about the announcement, Formula 1 CEO, 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.”

2020 F1 Schedule to date