F1: Americas’ Races Cancelled as More European Races Announced for 2020 Season
3 more F1 races in Europe have been announced for October, in Germany, Portugal and Italy. The Nurburgring and Imola will make their return to the F1 scene, for the first time since 2013 and 2006 respectively. Meanwhile F1 will return to Portugal for the first time since 1996, albeit in the Algarve rather than Estoril.
The Nurburgring event will take place after the Russian Grand Prix on October 9th-11th, becoming the only race so far not to be part of a triple or double header. Instead of taking the traditional title of Grosser Preis von Deutschland (German Grand Prix), the race will be called the 2020 Formula 1 Aramco Grosser Preis der Eifel (Grand Prix of the Eifel), named after the Eifel mountain region the circuit resides in. The race will take place on the Grand Prix circuit, and not the famous 25.4km Nordschleife (+GP).
Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit
The Portimao race will take the name of the country as per tradition, being dubbed the 2020 Formula 1 Heineken Portuguese Grand Prix. It will mark the Algarve International Circuit’s Formula 1 debut, after a few teams tested there upon opening in 2008. It will take place on October 23rd-25th.
Algarve International Circuit
Formula 1’s return to the infamous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will be F1’s 3rd visit to Italy in 2020, however instead of reviving Imola’s traditional name of the San Marino Grand Prix, it will be called the 2020 Formula 1 Emirates Gran Premio dell’Emilia Romagna (Emilia Romagna Grand Prix), named after the region of Italy the circuit resides in. It is similar to MotoGP’s race at Misano, which is dubbed the Gran Premio dell’Emilia Romagna e della Riviera de Rimini.
Also new at the Imola event is the event format, with the event taking place over 2 days rather than the traditional 3, to allow an extra day for teams making the 2400km trek from the Algarve to Imola in time, with the event taking place on October 31st-November 1st. The exact timetable for the event is yet to be agreed, however it is expected that only 1 practice session will take place, rather than the traditional 3.
The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
F1 CEO and Chairman Chase Cary said, “We are pleased that we continue to make strong progress in finalising our plans for the 2020 season and are excited to welcome Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola to the revised calendar.
“We want to thank the promoters, the teams, and the FIA for their full support in our efforts to bring our fans exciting racing this season during an unprecedented time.
“We also want to pay tribute to our incredible partners in the Americas and look forward to being back with them next season when they will once again be able to thrill millions of fans around the world.”
The announcement comes after F1 confirmed there will be no races in the Americas in 2020, with the Canadian, United States, Mexico City and Brazilian Grands Prix all being cancelled.
The decision was “due to the fluid nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local restrictions and the importance of keeping communities and our colleagues safe”. In Brazil and the US in particular, the COVID-19 situation is much worse than a lot of the world.
Chase Carey said, “We want to pay tribute to our incredible partners in the Americas and look forward to being back with them next season when they will once again be able to thrill millions of fans around the world.”
Talks are ongoing for the return of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since 2017, as well as for the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix on the Hanoi Street Circuit, which was originally due to make its debut in April 2020.
The full 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar so far can be seen below:
* races expected but not confirmed
