CORONAVIRUS is Affecting the Season Already!

ariel view of the melbourne gp race track

Now Christmas is a distant memory; we’ve suffered the lull of January and the downpours of February … Spring is nearly here! And Formula One is back. Phew...

But not quite as we know it.

This Formula One season had promised a record-breaking number of races – with 22 – but for the Chinese Grand Prix, and now the Australian Grand Prix being postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Formula One’s Ross Brawn agrees that while it may be tricky to reschedule the race in Shanghai – everything will be done to try and rearrange this for some time in the autumn.

As the season prepared to kick off in Australia this weekend; McLaren pulled out of the race, due to a member of their team testing positive for Coronavirus. “The team member was tested and self-isolated as soon as they started to show symptoms.”

Formula One bosses have now met today (12th March) and made the difficult decision to postpone the race in Melbourne. More to follow...

Next week in Bahrain (22nd March) will be the first Formula One race ‘behind closed doors’ as organisers opted to proceed without a crowd in order to go ahead: “In consultation with our international partners and Kingdom’s national health taskforce, Bahrain has made the decision to hold this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix as a participant-only event.”

couple dressed up at the venice carnival

Italy are currently suffering the worst European outbreak. So far, 60 million people have been quarantined, the Venice Carnival has been closed and the football federation has suggested that Serie A may not complete the season. The Italian Grand Prix on 6th September, seems safely in the future – but is still a worry, given the severity of the outbreak.

empty stadium at the monza grand prix

Depending on how well the rest of the world contains the virus, it could affect further destinations. Now officially a pandemic, the threat of Coronavirus has caused the cancellation of countless sporting events and other situations that will draw large crowds.

formula one crowd at the monza gp

New Races:

In planned changes to the schedule for 2020, the German Grand Prix has been removed and two new races have been added: the Dutch and Vietnamese Grand Prix.

Ok, not new as such, the Dutch Grand Prix is making a comeback. The last time there was a race in the Netherlands was in 1985, when Nikki Lauda won his final race. During the 1970s, due to several serious incidents – it earnt a reputation as a dangerous track. The Circuit Zandvoort has undergone a redesign since the 1980s and Formula One safety procedures have become much more stringent. We are really looking forward to seeing this new and improved track on 3rd May.

Vietnam is a completely new addition to the calendar on 5th April. A street race, similar to Singapore – will see the streets of Hanoi turned into a racetrack. This includes a 1.5km straight. Another part of the world heavily affected by the Coronavirus – we may have to wait even longer to see how the drivers deal with the track.

formula one red bull car racing
Expect Broken Records?
  • 1. This season, Lewis Hamilton has the opportunity to equal Formula One giant Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 championships.
  • 2. At the time of writing Hamilton is reported to be on the verge of signing a new 3-year contract with Mercedes which will earn him £60 million per year – making him the highest paid F1 driver ever.
  • 3. Hamilton is also just 7 seven race wins behind Michael Schumacher’s record of 91. Given that Hamilton’s yearly average since 2013 is 9 wins – in the absence of a disaster - this looks likely.
  • 4. Races started: Rubens Barrichello currently holds the record for race starts with 322. Kimi Raikkonen starts this season with 312 – so the record is well within The Iceman’s grasp.
  • 5. Mercedes: one more constructors’ championship and Mercedes will become the first to win 7 consecutive titles – beating the record Ferrari set in 2004.
  • 6. Could Verstappen become the young world champion? At 22, he would beat Vettel’s record of becoming the youngest champion at 23 years and 134 days in 2010.

See you in the living room for the new start of the season on 22nd March in Bahrain!