Formula One on Tuesday announced an initial eight-race calendar to get the 2020 season started almost four months later than planned amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Here, the PA news agency breaks down what has been announced and what is still to come.
Where will the season begin?
BREAKING: The opening 8 races of a revised 2020 calendar are now confirmed
All 8 are currently set to be closed events, operating under the strongest safety procedures
Further races will be announced in the coming weeks pic.twitter.com/vQioKOAkQo
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 2, 2020
Just shy of four months after the Australian Grand Prix was called off at the 11th hour due to the spread of coronavirus, the 2020 season is due to get under way at Austria's Red Bull Ring on July 5. The Spielberg circuit will host a doubleheader with a second race, dubbed the Grand Prix of Styria, taking place a week later on July 12 before the F1 paddock shifts to Hungary for a race on July 12. Silverstone is up next with races on August 2 and August 9, the first of them the official British Grand Prix with the second dubbed the 'Formula One 70th Anniversary Grand Prix'. Racing will then move to Spain (August 16), Belgium (August 30) and Italy (September 6).
What special measures will be in place?
We're coming home... 😍 #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/5q9RLzx2TV
— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) June 2, 2020
Formula One has been working to devise race environments which are as safe as possible, and selected Austria to host the opening rounds as the circuit's location in Spielberg is remote enough to be away from major population centres but well connected enough to allow teams to come and go easily. F1 has said all the races announced so far are expected to take place behind closed doors, with a minimum number of team personnel on site.
What is still to come?
F1 is hoping to stage between 15 and 18 races this season, with the eight-race calendar announced on Tuesday merely the opening instalment. The sport is still looking at how it might safely stage events across its usual markets in Asia, the Americas and Middle East though nothing has yet been confirmed. It is expected the season could end with races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi on December 6 and 13.
