Paris (AFP)
The World Council of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) on Friday validated the timetable for the resumption of Formula 1 post coronavirus crisis, with eight races in Europe to start between July and September.
The 2020 season, which should have started in mid-March in Australia, will open on July 5 on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, behind closed doors, with reduced numbers in the paddock and following a strict health protocol, a "code of conduct" also adopted Friday and which will be extended to other categories of motorsport.
A second GP is planned in Spielberg on July 12, before Hungary (on the Hungaroring of 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.
The continuation, not yet announced, should in principle take teams and drivers to Asia and the Americas, before finishing in the Middle East in mid-December.
The measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 initially provide for the absence of spectators and the reduction of the number of people present on the circuits (stables, officials, security, media).
These will be divided into watertight groups from each other, regularly tested, and trace will be kept from their close contacts, through an application or in declarative form.
In the event of a positive case, the persons concerned will be isolated and replaced.
To allow compliance with social and physical distancing measures, the FIA also authorizes race commissioners to "operate at a distance in exceptional circumstances", limits the number of people authorized on the starting gates, reviews its protocol on the podiums or further reduced the periods during the Grand Prix weekends during which the teams are not authorized to work on the cars, this activity now taking longer to be carried out in complete safety.
© 2020 AFP