Further changes to the 2020 F1 calendar have been confirmed including the addition of races at the Nurburgring, Algarve and Imola, which was revealed by RaceFans earlier this week.
Formula 1 will use its return to Imola to try a new, condensed race weekend format in which the track activity will take place over two days instead of three.The championship is also believed to be considering whether to allow a limited number of spectators to attend its October event at the Autodromo do Algrave in Portugal.
Following the first 10 races which have already been confirmed, Formula 1 will return to the modern, 5.1-kilometre Nurburgring in October. The track, which lies next to the famous 20-kilometre Nordschleife, last held the German Grand Prix seven years ago when Sebastian Vettel won for Red Bull.
Two weeks after that Formula 1 will make its first visit to Portugal since 1996. The 12th round of the championship will take place at a the Autodromo do Algarve circuit in Portimao, which opened in 2008 and has not previously held a grand prix.
The following week F1 will race at Italy’s Imola circuit for the first time since 2006. The track was heavily revised following the crashes in 1994 which claimed the lives of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, and has undergone further changes since the last San Marino Grand Prix.
“We are pleased that we continue to make strong progress in finalising our plans for the 2020 season and are excited to welcome Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola to the revised calendar,” said Formula 1 CEO and chairman Chase Carey.
“We want to thank the promoters, the teams, and the FIA for their full support in our efforts to bring our fans exciting racing this season during an unprecedented time.”
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Updated 2020 F1 calendar
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austrian Grand Prix | Red Bull Ring | Jul 3-5 |
| 2 | Styrian Grand Prix | Red Bull Ring | Jul 10-12 |
| 3 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Hungaroring | Jul 17-19 |
| 4 | British Grand Prix | Silverstone | Jul 31-Aug 2 |
| 5 | 70th Anniversary Grand Prix | Silverstone | Aug 7-9 |
| 6 | Spanish Grand Prix | Circuit de Catalunya | Aug 14-16 |
| 7 | Belgian Grand Prix | Spa-Francorchamps | Aug 28-30 |
| 8 | Italian Grand Prix | Monza | Sep 4-6 |
| 9 | Tuscan Ferrari 1000 Grand Prix | Mugello | Sep 11-13 |
| 10 | Russian Grand Prix | Sochi Autodrom | Sep 25-27 |
| 11 | Eifel Grand Prix | Nurburgring | Oct 9-11 |
| 12 | Portuguese Grand Prix | Autodromo do Algarve | Oct 23-25 |
| 13 | Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix | Imola | Oct 31-Nov 1 |
Further races TBC.
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2020 F1 season
- Pictures: Wrecked chassis from Grosjean’s Bahrain fireball crash to go on display
- Bottas vs Rosberg: Hamilton’s Mercedes team mates compared after 78 races each
- F1 revenues fell by $877 million in Covid-struck 2020 season
- Hamilton and Mercedes finally announce new deal for 2021 season
- F1 audience figures “strong” in 2020 despite dip in television viewers
Patrick (@paeschli)
24th July 2020, 15:05
Funny how despite having a record number of races in Europe, no one wants to name their GP the European GP.
Curious to see what a two day event will look like. FP1 and FP2 Saturday, no FP3 and Qualifying and Race on Sunday?
Imre (@f1mre)
24th July 2020, 15:34
Hope not. Makes no sense putting quali and race on the same day. Quali would be much less anticipated on a race day. Quali and race time should not be moved. But having less practice sessions on a new track sounds good. More chance of unexpected results.
ColdFly
24th July 2020, 15:47
from the official F1 site
Loko
24th July 2020, 21:49
FIA has certain requirements for World Championship. Like having races on multiple continents. So far, it kind of looks like requirements are not going to be fulfilled this year 🤔
RL
25th July 2020, 1:52
It’s their way of making sure Schumi keeps the record of 7 WDCs. Either Hamilton becomes 6x WDC, one time European Drivers’ Championship or Bottas of course.
W (@vishnusxdx)
25th July 2020, 8:08
Fia is quite clear about this. The original calendar had ALL the requirements fullfilled. And that’s the thing that counts. F1 can’t help those races getting cancelled by a global pandemic.
I’m surprised you haven’t picked it up already.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
25th July 2020, 1:48
And that also means less or even no support races :(
Imre (@f1mre)
25th July 2020, 13:54
@spoutnik Not necessarily. Support race weekend schedule could start on Friday. Also, Porsche Supercup does not have 10+ race calendars nowadays, so some time slots are freed up.
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
25th July 2020, 2:58
F1 is back where it belong. It should stay in Europe for most races.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:05
@paeschli My prediction is FP3 as the only practice session (either 60 or 90 minutes) and QLF on Saturday, followed by the race on Sunday as is the case at present.
Rui Trindade (@trindade)
24th July 2020, 15:09
So the Tuscan Ferrari 1000 Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom!?! ?? Interesting!!!
regs (@regs)
24th July 2020, 21:20
What’s that? 1000 km F1 race?
regs (@regs)
26th July 2020, 22:23
But why not. There is a free engine, since there will be no 21 races. 1000 km (191 laps), one car, two drives, each should race at least 30% distance in sum. Qualification – best lap from both drivers.
It would be something traditional.
regs (@regs)
26th July 2020, 22:27
Ah, forgot about fuel. It would be problematic.
MaddMe (@)
24th July 2020, 15:17
Is there an error there? I thought the Tuscan GP was Mugello.
As such does that bring the number of races to 14 so far…
HUHHII (@huhhii)
24th July 2020, 15:20
Great news!
Although Emilia-Romagna GP… Hmm. San Marino GP would’ve been more nostalgic.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
24th July 2020, 18:15
Really not sure why they have not called it San Marino either?
IMOLAFTW
24th July 2020, 15:23
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dux Holm
24th July 2020, 15:24
Do we know which layout of algarve is going to be used? I expect them to the the tighter turn 1 configuration but a couple of other corners have multiple configurations as well.
Also they should make Imola the San Marino GP not Emilia-Romagna GP.
Miguel Sampaio (@gordess)
24th July 2020, 15:24
YEEEEEESSS! I’m so happy to see Portimão finally get a chance to host a GP! Drivers who’ve driven there love it, so lets hope it puts on a great race and be added to the calendar for the following years! :)
Wessel (@wessel-v1)
24th July 2020, 15:34
I presume the date for Imola will the the 31st of October till the 1st of November, then.
DAllein (@)
24th July 2020, 15:46
Nice!
Thanks to COVID madness we can have a truly classic season. Incredible…
Maybe it will make Liberty realize, that we need more variety and more classic tracks in the Calendar…
Not these Tilke Boredromes.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
24th July 2020, 15:58
Considering they used #AustrianGP for Styria I wonder if they’ll dare using #GermanGP for Eifel when they clearly don’t have permission to use the title!
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
24th July 2020, 16:11
I believe word around the block was #austrianGP was used for fear of people confusing ‘styrianGP’ with ‘syrianGP’
lancesuk (@lancesuk)
24th July 2020, 16:09
Should have been San Marino for old times sake…
IMOLAFTW
24th July 2020, 16:26
Yeah not sure why not?
black (@black)
24th July 2020, 16:48
From Motorsport:
Ok seriously, if Malaysia comes back to the calendar, even as an one-off, the revised ‘Covid-19’ 2020 calendar might end up as the best calendar in F1’s history…
We have got all the good European classic tracks (and we don’t even have to endure another Paul-Ricard!!!), we have got brand new additions at spectacular tracks that the teams have no data from (Mugello, Portimao), we have the long awaited return of Imola (plus Nurburgring’s return that gave us great races), we have got an crazy oval race in the desert as the second-to-last race and with Malaysia hopefully back, one of the most challenging, unique and actually good Tilkedromes that produces good racing!
racerdude7730 (@racerdude7730)
24th July 2020, 20:50
What sucks is that next year it will be back to normal and lose these tracks again. I would be a big fan of having two wildcard races each year that are in different tracks. It would be fun for fans and the crowds would be huge bc they wouldn’t know if they would have another race for years. The covid sucks but this schedule is pretty good. The racing might not be great at them all but I think fans will be happy
black (@black)
25th July 2020, 2:00
@racerdude7730 I honestly believe that at least one of the 4 new races will be a success and will make it to the 2021 or 2022 calendar. Either Nurburgring gets a new contract sharing the German GP with Hockenheim, or/and Portimao revives the Portuguese GP as a pernament race.
Sattalyte (@sattalyte)
24th July 2020, 21:37
I quite agree!
For me, the cherry on top would be Turkey, but that’s unlikely. A man can dream…
mfreire
27th July 2020, 6:04
The greatest years for F1’s calendar was 1968 (even though that was a particularly deadly year). Nordschleife, Spa, Rouen, Brands, Monaco, Monza, Zandvoort, Kyalami, Mont Tremblant, Watkins Glen and Mexico City… now THAT’s a calendar.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
24th July 2020, 16:50
It’s a shame we will potentially get less track action at Imola with the 2 day weekend as that is a great track to watch the cars doing laps as i’d rather get to see cars out there for as much time as possible.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th July 2020, 17:06
Yesssss Imola!!!!
This calendar is by far the best thing that’s happened since Covid.
Sad it’s not called San Marino GP tho!
Balue (@balue)
24th July 2020, 20:31
Why? It’s a rubbish track to race on. Worse to overtake than Barcelona and Monaco AFAICR, and that’s the worst of the worst.
Dave
24th July 2020, 17:09
Eifel GP and Emilia-Romagna GP? Why not German/Nürburgring GP and San Marino GP?
Postreader
24th July 2020, 19:22
Good querstion. Maybe Hockemheim owns the rights to the German GP name and Imola lost the rights to San Marino’s?
Jamie B
25th July 2020, 2:09
I thought F1 owns the rights to race titles, and given there was no contract with Hockenheim this year, it is odd, and on the same note, they could’ve revived the San Marino GP. Nevertheless, it’s just naming at the end of the day the races go ahead regardless so no big deal :))
regs (@regs)
26th July 2020, 22:20
Usually countries and regions owns that rights
StephenH
24th July 2020, 17:10
This season is going to make future F1 questions on Pointless very interesting …
Nooma341 (@nooma341)
24th July 2020, 17:16
Can I just take a moment to say: “Kudos!!!” to the RaceFans.Net team for reporting this possibility before anyone else two days ago! You’re all doing a great job! I can’t wait for these races!
zomtec (@zomtec)
24th July 2020, 17:21
Why didn’t they fit Imola in between Nürburgring and Algarve?
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:06
@zomtec Why should it be there?
zomtec (@zomtec)
26th July 2020, 17:11
a) would save some km and hours of driving
b) would give a week more to pack an additional races into the calender
Jere (@jerejj)
28th July 2020, 15:32
@zomtec Nurburgring’s race is a standalone event, so the order of the Portimao-Imola double-header is irrelevant as far as mileage between the events is concerned, and also zero difference to b). The race following Imola can’t take place earlier than November 15 regardless of the Portimao-Imola order.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
24th July 2020, 18:21
I know people have been talking about the Nurburgring race possibly being effected by the weather, being held in October. But won’t Imola be a bit cold and possibly damp on the 1st November?
I may be incorrect but I don’t ever recall a European F1 event being held that late in the year. The same might go for Portugal the weekend before. I hope they’re planning to take lots of full wets to these.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:07
@phil-f1-21 Not necessarily. There isn’t much difference between October 25 and November 1. The early days of November can still be warm in the Southern Europe.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:09
@phil-f1-21 1997 European GP in Jerez took place on October 26, so only six days off.
rsp123 (@rsp123)
24th July 2020, 19:01
Millionaire drivers and billionaire team owners, not to mention Liberty Media – are totally dependent on volunteers, who stand ready to risk their lives, in order to race, and then treat them badly – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/24/marshals-condemn-refusal-to-test-them-for-covid-19-at-british-grand-prix
What’s wrong with this picture?
Patrick (@paeschli)
24th July 2020, 19:04
I don’t see why F1 couldn’t race at 5°C-10°C. Yes they might struggle to heat up those tyres, but the 1978 Canadian GP was held despite very cold conditions by F1 standards.
anon
24th July 2020, 21:18
@paeschli if you were a marshal that was stuck in an exposed marshals post at a time when the conditions were that cold, I imagine that you’d be finding it somewhat wretched.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
24th July 2020, 22:09
@paeschli Because there comes a point where the difficulties in warming up the tyres becomes a safety issue.
Indycar have certain temperature limits below which they won’t let cars on track as a result of the 1992 Indy 500 turning into a driver injuring wreckfest thanks to the low temperatures.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:11
@paeschli That was 40+ years ago, and things have changed over time. The difficulty of not getting the tyres up to temperature could indeed be a safety issue as @stefmeister pointed out, hence, why 5-10 C is far from ideal for F1.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
24th July 2020, 20:02
So if 18 is the goal, and Bahrain will hold 2 GP’s, while Abu Dhabi will hold 1 GP, what other 2 GP’s are possible? Are they really planning Vietnam and perhaps Malaysia in November? Seems so expensive and unnecessary to travel to these countries, just for a TV show.
I’d rather see a GP in Jerez, and perhaps one at Estoril. Both venues are warm enough in November to host a GP.
16mi (@16mi)
24th July 2020, 20:14
Estoril I get, but why Jerez? Yes it’s warm but apart from qualifying the on track action should be pretty bland, no?
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:12
@16mi ”the on track action should be pretty bland, no?”
– The same applies to Mugello and Imola as well, and many other circuits, so not really a perfect argument against Jerez.
Jared H (@thejaredhuang)
24th July 2020, 20:19
Logic would dictate that they should have tested the 2 day format on one of the tracks that was holding a double header, but this is F1 and logic is a scarce supply.
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
24th July 2020, 21:27
@thejaredhuang I thought the same but then thought some more and realised that doing the 2 day on an ‘unknown’ track will provide the greatest potential for mixing it up. The teams probably won’t have the tracks in their latest sims so less chance to do setup work before arriving so genuine chance for an underdog.
However on the other side of the coin, Mercedes who are operationally excellent could simply do a better job than the others as they will probably be able to process the Saturday data better so the gap may well increase.
We will see what happens!
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
25th July 2020, 8:09
@chimaera2003 James Allison, in a very recent fan interview said that the teams have data on the new circuits and simulations give a fair idea of how the car would perform. So nothing is an ‘unknown quantity’ to them when they hit the track. Shouldn’t really affect the front runner(s) (lol), but could spice up the midfield.
https://youtu.be/E9K8m0LyTnI 4:43 onwards
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
25th July 2020, 9:08
@asleepatthewheel Then I fear that Mercedes will merely increase their relative performance gap more since if there is no significant setup barriers for them then I’m pretty sure that they will out-analyse the other teams on any Saturday data collected to get more marginal gains compared to others.
Jasper
24th July 2020, 20:29
What about Istanbul Park? That would fit into this calendar perfectly.
Balue (@balue)
24th July 2020, 20:32
Indeed, it’s a good track too.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:14
@Jasper Wouldn’t be ready at this short notice.
racerdude7730 (@racerdude7730)
24th July 2020, 20:55
It just sucks they will spoil us this year just to go back to the same old show next year. Even if the racing’s not great fans wanna see these old tracks again. So they will give us a taste this year just to pull it away. This is the most excited if have been for a season in years as messed up as it is. I think each year we need 2 wildcard races at new/old tracks every year to spice it up for fans.
playstation361
24th July 2020, 21:08
I hope things are not challenging.
regs (@regs)
24th July 2020, 21:24
Too much of Silverstone. It’s boring in current configuration. They should bring back 1989-1990 configuration.
anon
24th July 2020, 22:38
@regs and how are they supposed to do that when several chunks of that layout no longer physically exist as they were demolished decades ago?
regs (@regs)
24th July 2020, 23:00
Those chunks can be restored in a few weeks.
anon
25th July 2020, 8:09
@regs you seem to be treating this more like a basic DIY project that you do at home, when in reality it would be a sizeable operation given that you would have to demolish multiple buildings and grandstands and to have to construct multiple new access roads around the circuit.
Were you the one who also came out with the claim last year that Zandvoort would be rebuilt by late November 2019, when in reality construction work continued on for several months after that?
Salty (@salty)
25th July 2020, 11:01
Shame but no surprise in the Americas races being lost.
Glad Portimao has been confirmed, hilly, twisty and wide enough for scope for overtaking without DRS, which is handy as can’t really see it working there apart from on pit straight.
Imola I love for historical reasons, but I don’t think it will offer any overtaking now. Too narrow. Mugello would have proved a better option, but that seems to have been passed over.
Nuremburgring that late in the year will be a non-starter. Wet, icy or tarmac too cold.
Phil-f1-21
25th July 2020, 11:32
There is a race at Mugello. Check the list.
Salty (@salty)
25th July 2020, 17:42
Ooo thanks for that Phil. Glad I got Mugello wrong, looking forward to that one. Cheers!
Imre (@f1mre)
25th July 2020, 13:57
Nürburgring is not expected to be the warmest of races. Average high in October is 12.5 C.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2020, 14:15
@f1mre Indeed.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
25th July 2020, 16:32
Portimão & Imola live on Channel 4 please? And Mugello.
(not Sochi though. Sochi and Sky deserve each other.)
mfreire
27th July 2020, 6:07
I would not be surprised if next year’s calendar includes only European tracks. Considering how COVID is affecting the world right now, F1 would be smart to not take any chances until 2022.
Patrick (@paeschli)
28th July 2020, 15:06
Canada 2015 or 2016 was also quite cold IIRC @stefmeister and @jerejj with sub 10°C on race day and there were no notable issues. The problem has more to do with Pirelli being unable to make a decent F1 tyre.
Jere (@jerejj)
28th July 2020, 15:42
@paeschli Incorrect. Only the 2016 event was unusually cool, and that was around 15 C on race day rather than in the single-digits. The previous season’s event had low-20s on race day, so well above single-digits. Over the last number of years, 2016 is the only notable exception to the rule in this regard. Apart from that, the ambient daytime temps have regularly been in the region of mid-20s to high-20s and or low-30s, and at the lowest, in low-20s during the GP weekends.
@stefmeister is right in that at some point, there comes a point where/when the difficulty of getting tyres up to temperature can become or rather becomes an unnecessary safety issue, which wouldn’t be to the benefit of anyone.