Following the cancellation of the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and the postponement of the races in China, Bahrain and Vietnam, it’s safe to say that no one really knows how this F1 season will play out.
Formula 1 and FIA said that the 2020 season is now “expected” to begin at the end of May, though this could change at any moment given the global outbreak of the coronavirus.
The first race of the season in Australia was canceled just hours before the first practice session, after a member of the McLaren team was found positive to the virus.
Read More: 2020 Australian F1 Grand Prix Has Been Cancelled Over Coronavirus Pandemic
“The situation today is different than it was two days ago and it was different than four days ago,” said F1’s chief executive Chase Carey to Reuters. “Trying to look out and make those sorts of predictions, when it is changing this quick, it is challenging.”
Shanghai, originally the fourth race of the 2020 season, has already been postponed while Bahrain and Vietnam followed suit. Organisers of the Dutch and of the Spanish GPs both announced that they are in talks with F1 and FIA to decide the fate of their races.
The current plan is to start the 2020 season in Europe at the end of May without mentioning which race will that be. The Monaco GP is the closest event to that date.
“As a result, Formula 1 and the FIA expect to begin the Championship in Europe at the end of May but given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe in recent days, this will be regularly reviewed,” the official statement from Formula 1 reads.
“We continue to rely on the input and advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and governments and will work with them throughout this unpredictable period to safeguard the fans, competitors and all of the motor sport community,” FIA President Jean Todt added.
