Paris (AFP)

The 2020 Formula 1 season, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, will start on July 5 in Austria and the first eight races will take place in Europe between July and September, according to the new calendar formalized on Tuesday.

A second GP will follow in Austria (on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg) on ​​July 12, before Hungary (on the Hungaroring in Budapest) on July 19, Great Britain (at Silverstone) on August 2 and 9, Spain (on the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit in Montmelo) on August 16, Belgium (in Spa-Francorchamps) on August 30 and Italy (in Monza) on September 6.

"Due to the current fluidity of the Covid-19 situation at the international level, the details of the full calendar will be finalized in the coming weeks, with the hope of having a total of 15 to 18 races by the end of the season in December, "said the promoter of F1, Formula 1, and its regulatory body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), in a joint statement.

"As previously indicated, it is currently planned that the first races will take place behind closed doors" for health reasons, specify the authorities, which then hope to be able to bring back the fans "when it will be possible to do so safely".

To allow racing to resume, the FIA ​​and F1 have also put in place a plan to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.

Among the precautions adopted are the limitation of the number of people on the paddock, health checks on departure for the host country, on arrival, then every two days. The teams will be isolated from each other on the circuits, as well as from the general public outside (international flights, local transport, hotels).

The season should have started in mid-March in Australia but this GP was canceled in extremis following the discovery of a case within the McLaren team.

Several races have been postponed (Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Spain, Azerbaijan, Canada, Great Britain) or canceled (Australia, Monaco, France, Netherlands).

The calendar of the first eight races of the 2020 season:

3-5 July: Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)

July 10-12: Grand Prix of Styria (Spielberg)

July 17-19: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)

July 31 – August 2: British Grand Prix (Silverstone)

August 7-9: Grand Prix for the 70th anniversary of F1 (Silverstone)

August 14-16: Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)

August 28-30: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)

September 4-6: Italian Grand Prix (Monza)

© 2020 AFP