LONDON – The 2020 Formula One season starts in Austria on Sunday with a revised initial calendar and lingering uncertainty about how many races there will ultimately be.
Formula One has so far announced eight races, in Europe without spectators, but is still hoping for an eventual calendar of 15-18 rounds.
The following are the races confirmed so far:
July 5 - Austria. The Red Bull Ring at Spielberg.
71 laps of 4.318km. Total distance: 306.452km. 2019 pole: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari. 2019 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull.
A rural circuit in southern Styria, owned by Red Bull.
July 12 - Austria,
the second race at the Red Bull Ring will be officially known as the Grand Prix of Steiermark (Styria).
July 19 - Hungary.
The Hungaroring, outside Budapest. 70 laps of 4.381km. 306.670km. 2019 pole: Verstappen. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes. Tight, twisty and slow. The first race in 1986 was a breakthrough for F1 behind the 'Iron Curtain'.
Aug. 2 - Britain. Silverstone.
52 laps of 5.891km. 306.198km. 2019 pole: Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes. Winner: Hamilton. The first world championship grand prix was held here in 1950.
Aug. 9 - Britain,
officially designated the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Also at Silverstone.
Aug. 16 - Spain. Circuit de Catalunya,
near Barcelona. Race consists of 66 laps of 4.655km. Total distance: 307.104km. 2019 pole: Bottas. Winner: Hamilton. Completely familiar to all teams from pre-season testing. On the calendar since 1991.
Aug. 30 - Belgium. Spa-Francorchamps.
44 laps of 7.004km. 308.052km. 2019 pole and winner: Leclerc. The longest lap on the calendar and one of the fastest and oldest circuits.
Sept. 6 - Italy. Monza.
53 laps of 5.793km. 307.029km. 2019 pole and winner: Leclerc. "La Pista Magica", Ferrari's home track, dates back to the 1920s but is still the fastest in F1.
Races still to be scheduled:
China, Canada, Vietnam, Russia, Mexico, United States, Brazil, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi.
Some of these circuits may host more than one race, others are likely to be cancelled, with the possibility of tracks not on the original calendar being used (Mugello in Italy and Portimao in Portugal).
Races cancelled so far:
Australia, Netherlands, Monaco, France, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Japan.