Between 15 and 18 races, end of season postponed
As cancellations and postponements multiply, Chase Carey estimates that there will be between 15 and 18 races for the 2020 season instead of the initially planned 22.
Yesterday, Baku became the eighth race of the season to announce that it was unable to host F1 on the scheduled weekend. However, the Azerbaijani organizers stated that they hoped it would only be a postponement and not a complete cancellation, unlike Monaco.
It is in this context that Chase Carey, the president of F1, decided to speak about the prospects he sees for a 2020 season, which will be heavily rescheduled: « We recognize that there is a strong possibility of further event postponements. However, we and our partners expect the season to start this summer, with a new schedule of 15 to 18 races. » This assumption therefore means that Liberty Media expects to be able to reschedule some of the affected races.
To do this, Liberty has several options. The first is that the August break has been moved forward to March-April. This will therefore leave three additional weeks. The second option is also to postpone the end of the season, currently scheduled for November 29 in Abu Dhabi. The emirate should keep its position but be pushed further into the calendar year since its climate is much more favorable than in other areas.
Finally, the order of the races should also be rearranged to address the logistical constraints this may pose: « The order and the scheduled dates will significantly change compared to our original 2020 calendar. It is not possible to provide more specific information about the schedule today due to the constantly evolving current situation, but we hope to have more information about each country, as well as travel restrictions, in the coming month. »
Once this new schedule is validated and approved, the logistics teams of the teams will then be able to embark on a new race against time to be ready in a timely manner. We can also think of all the other members of the Formula One Circus, the freelancers who follow the caravan to the four corners of the world and do not have specialized agencies to plan all their travels.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
