Formula 1 will not release its full calendar before the 2020 season commences as series organisers continue to evaluate the effects of the coronavirus, according to CEO Chase Carey.
Formula 1 has already confirmed its revised opening eight-race sequence that will begin in Austria this weekend.
Another event in Austria will take place before one in Hungary, a double-header in Britain, followed by Spain, Belgium and Italy. You can look up the dates of these events on various websites and if you are a fan of sports betting, several betting agencies offer rewards and bonuses for participating, for example the bet365 bonus for the 2020 season, that lets you use a bonus over the entire duration of the F1 this year.
Formula 1 had hoped to reveal its full calendar prior to the opening event but on Thursday Carey provided a further update.
“I think in the next few weeks we will look to land, certainly at least another chunk of the calendar, ideally we’d like to land the whole second half of the calendar,” Carey said in an interview with the official Formula 1 website.
“There are a number of races we already know will be on the calendar. I don’t want to get into piecemeal addressing it, I’d like to address it holistically. But to lock the dates in we really need to figure out what other races will be on it
“We’ve said 15-18 races and we still feel comfortable with that as a target. Right now we have a number of races we have essentially agreed with, we just haven’t firmed the date up.
“And a number of places we are moving forward with, trying to firm a date up. We have a few that are much more up in the air based in circumstances in that country.”
It is understood that agreements have been reached to hold races at new venues Mugello and Portimao while rounds in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are due to round out the campaign.
Bahrain, postponed from March, could hold multiple races while it is also believed that China will be rescheduled for a mid-late November date.
But one major hurdle is Formula 1’s plans for its events in the Americas.
Formula 1, which has always had a world championship event each year on the continents, was due to race in the United States, Mexico and Brazil across late October and November.
The Canadian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for mid-June, remains provisionally postponed.
Mexico and Brazil have been adversely affected by the coronavirus while the United States has the highest death toll of any country, with Texas – and Austin – suffering a spike in cases in recent weeks.
MotorsportWeek.com understands that the events are highly unlikely to take place but as it stands Formula 1 is still keeping the door open for the grands prix.
“When you look at the US, Mexico, Brazil, clearly right now they seem to be having a higher incidence of infections than other places,” said Carey.
“So [we’re] trying to get guidance from these places on what’s possible, what we can do.
“Really we need to know, can we race in a location? Will there be restrictions on our ability to get in and out a location in a functioning way? And to some degree we’re trying to address the fan question. We’d like to have fans at our races. It’s a possibility.
“One of the challenges of looking at a calendar in November is November is four months away. You’re less than four months into the virus, so trying to look forward to where you’ll be in November I understand is hard for everybody.
“But ultimately we need to plan ahead. So there’s a point in time when we have to just put a stake in the ground and make decisions on what we know. I think that’s soon.”
Events cancelled in their entirety so far in 2020 are Australia, the Netherlands, Monaco, Azerbaijan, France, Singapore and Japan.
