Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)

Two new Grands Prix, at Mugello, the Ferrari circuit in Italy, on September 13 and in Sochi (Russia) on September 27, have been confirmed on the calendar of the 2020 season of Formula 1 by the promoter of the world championship, Formula One , Friday.

"This brings the number of confirmed races to ten and more will be announced in the coming weeks," said F1 in a statement. "As previously indicated, we expect the 2020 season to have between 15 and 18 races," compared to 22 initially, by the time of the closing GP in Abu Dhabi in mid-December.

"We have more and more confidence in our project to run until the end of 2020", traveling to Asia (China, Vietnam) and the Americas (Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil) then in the Middle East (Bahrain, Abu Dhabi), says F1 CEO Chase Carey.

If the Russian GP in Sochi was already scheduled on this date before the coronavirus pandemic, which forced to reshuffle the entire calendar, the Grand Prix of Tuscany enters the Formula 1 World Championship, which has never raced at Mugello, 35 km from Florence.

The circuit, which notably hosts a round of the MotoGP World Championship, belongs to Ferrari, which will celebrate the 1000th race in its history in the premier category of motor sport.

Several other European circuits (Imola in Italy, Portimao in Portugal, Hockenheim in Germany) are negotiating to enter the calendar.

The inaugural round of the 2020 F1 season was held, more than three months late, in Austria last week.

A second event is scheduled this weekend on the same circuit, the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (center), before Hungary (Hungaroring), Great Britain (Silverstone circuit) twice, Spain (circuit of Barcelona-Catalonia), Belgium (Spa Francorchamps circuit) and Italy (Autodrome de Monza) by September 6.

Races are held until further notice in camera and follow a strict health protocol.

The season should have started in mid-March in Melbourne, Australia, but the opening round was canceled just before the first free practice session following the discovery of a case of coronavirus in the paddock.

Several other events have been canceled due to the pandemic (Monaco, France, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Japan and Singapore).

© 2020 AFP