F1 2020 Calendar: 4 New Grand Prix Added

Find the complete calendar here.

After the announcement last month of the return of a Grand Prix in Imola and the first F1 Grand Prix in Portugal and Mugello (Italy), F1 is rebuilding its 2020 calendar with surprise after surprise.

An end of season in December, it’s unheard of and it’s what Chase Carey, the CEO of Formula 1, just announced in a press release earlier. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will conclude this 2020 season on Sunday, December 13, 2020.

The 2020 season could then cover 17 Grand Prix races, which is 5 fewer than the number of races initially planned if the Covid-19 pandemic had not occurred.

This announcement concerns 4 new races on 3 different circuits:

• Turkish Grand Prix: November 13-15
• Bahrain Grand Prix: November 27-29
• Sakhir Grand Prix (also in Bahrain): December 4-6
• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: December 11-13

We are proud to announce that Turkey, Bahrain, and Abu Dhabi will be part of the 2020 Calendar. This year, we face an unprecedented challenge, and we want to thank everyone in Formula 1 who makes the travel to these three countries possible: the teams, the FIA, our partners. commented Chase Carey, CEO of Formula 1.

Return of Turkey to the calendar

The last Turkish Grand Prix took place in 2011. Nine years later, the Istanbul circuit will once again host a Grand Prix. It had taken place from 2005 to 2011. The last winner is still active, as it was Sebastian Vettel. Back then, he was with Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has also already won a Grand Prix there; it was in 2010 with McLaren. But they are not the only ones from the 2020 lineup to have tasted victory in Istanbul. Kimi Räikkönen won the first Turkish Grand Prix with McLaren in 2005.

2 races in Bahrain

To save time and money, Bahrain has agreed to host two races over two weekends. It’s the third time this season that this has happened, following Austria and Great Britain.

A 17-race season

In recent years, Formula 1 typically traveled to 20 or even 21 different countries in its calendar. This is the first time since 2009 that there will be only 17 Grand Prix. You even have to go back to 2003 to see fewer than 17 races on the schedule.

The calendar is therefore finalized since, unless a race is added after Abu Dhabi, the upcoming weekends until the end of the year are almost all taken up by a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Formula 1 fans will only have 6 free weekends until Christmas.

It should be noted that there will be no Grand Prix of China or the Netherlands, even though they had initially been postponed. The Grand Prix of the United States and Mexico had not yet been officially canceled either. It is now done.

Return of spectators during the races

Formula 1 is currently organizing on a country-by-country basis to try to allow the public into the venue for the upcoming Grand Prix. For now, no official announcement can be made on this subject.

Find the full schedule here.