As many of the major sports leagues are slowly but surely planning to restart their seasons after a months-long delay, Formula 1 is also making all the necessary moves to get the delayed 2020 season underway at last.
Formula 1 already has a date and venue in mind for the first race of the season and is also looking to reconfigure the rest of the schedule, which has been thrown completely out of whack by the pandemic.
More importantly, they supposedly have some top-notch medical protocols to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus when the season does begin.
Allow SBOBET to catch you up on all the latest Formula 1 2020 news about its plans to get the season started.
Formula 1 plans July start in Austria
The Formula 1 season is planning to make its belated start of the 2020 season in Austria on the 5th of July, F1 chairman Chase Carey confirmed in a recent conference call. Carey also confirmed the plan to hold another race in Austria the following weekend.
“Our goal is to launch the season on the weekend of July 4th and 5th in Austria. It is likely that we race the weekend of July 11th and 12th in Austria as well,” Carey said per Sky Sports.
F1 is looking to have a similar back-to-back race arrangement at Silverstone in England over the following two weekends.
The F1 schedule has had to be reconstructed after the first 10 races of the season were called off due to the pandemic. The plan now is to have a 15-to-18-race season.
Carey also revealed that F1 is exploring options to hold races on circuits which weren’t initially part of the 2020 calendar. Germany, Imola, Portugal, and Malaysia have been touted as possible venues.
Despite the progress F1 is making, Carey tempered some of the optimism by admitting owners are preparing for the “remote possibility” that the 2020 season won’t take place. However, he did stress that they are “increasingly confident” the season will go through as planned.
The Formula 1 2020 betting odds will likely have Lewis Hamilton favoured in the first race of the season in Austria, but Red Bull’s rising star Max Verstappen might actually be the better bet.
While Hamilton has only won in Austria once in his career, Verstappen has taken the chequered flag at Red Bull’s home race in each of the last two years.
Formula 1 praised for ‘immaculate’ safety measures
There is added optimism that the F1 season will resume as planned in July thanks to the supposedly top-calibre safety standards F1 has put in place.
Alex Wurz, chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, has praised the plans to maintain the safety of the drivers and expressed confidence that the season can get underway as planned.
“They are really trying their best and doing it in a typical F1 safety way, which is immaculate,” Wurz told the Guardian. “The drivers have been reassured today, I can only underline that.
“I feel confident that the right steps are being made in an efficient timeframe and unless outside circumstances intervene I believe we could start the 2020 season in Austria in July.”
Wurz confirmed F1 has brought in international safety specialists and global health experts to help plan out its safety protocol upon their return to action.
Wurz also points out that F1 is used to operating under very strict safety rules and that it could be a pioneer for how other industries could operate in a post-pandemic world.
Football stars join Virtual Formula 1
While planning for the F1 season continues, Virtual F1 is set to hold another race this Sunday. And the Virtual Spanish GP will have a special treat as some top football players are set to line up alongside the F1 drivers on the grid.
The big names include Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, who will join Red Bull alongside Alexander Albon, as well as Barcelona’s Arthur Melo and Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois.
Last week’s race was arguably the most exciting one of the series as Albon and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went at one another hard. In the end, though, Albon came out on top and claimed the chequered flag.
Leclerc will look to get his revenge and pick up another Virtual F1 win this weekend. He will also be joined by other F1 regulars in Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, and Lando Norris.
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