July 3, the quarantine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, officially leaves the world championship in auto racing in the Formula 1 class. The 2020 season will finally begin, but not with the traditional Australian Grand Prix, which was supposed to take place on March 15, but with the race in the Austrian Spielberg at the Red Bull Ring.
This year, Formula 1 was supposed to break the record for the number of stages performed, but coronavirus infection interfered with these plans. Many stages were canceled, and some were postponed to a later or indefinite period. A month ago, there was hope for the salvation of the season, when the leadership of the series determined that the next championship would still take place. True, so far there are only eight races in the approved calendar - for the first time since 1961, when Formula 1 was not as popular as it is today.
The new season will begin with two Grand Prix in Spielberg. Then the pilots will visit Hungary, the UK at another double stage, Spain, Belgium and Italy. Eight races are the minimum required for a championship to be valid. At the same time, motor racing enthusiasts will have a chance to see new races. The calendar of stages after September 6 will be published later.
Those Grand Prix that have already been planned will differ markedly from last year. First of all, there will be no spectators in the stands. Since promoters will lose a huge part of revenue without selling tickets, Formula 1 will conduct all races on its own, renting the tracks necessary for this. Moreover, all contracts for the Grand Prix will be extended for another year.
Security measures taken because of coronavirus will allow teams to bring only 80 employees to each stage. To some extent, this equates wealthy teams with less affluent ones, which previously drove a reduced staff of mechanics and engineers. At the same time, the lack of specialists can affect the level of preparation of cars for races, and more frequent breakdowns may become commonplace in the current season.
The role of reserve riders will also have to increase. The main pilots are still at risk of getting coronavirus and quarantined, but only because of this race will not be canceled. Teams will have to use reserve athletes in order not to refuse to participate in the races. One of the reserve pilots will be Russian Sergei Sirotkin, who again became a part of Renault and will be able to drive a car to replace Daniel Riccardo or Esteban Okona.
So it cannot be ruled out that for the first time in the history of Formula 1, two Russians will go to the start. Daniil Quat remains the combat pilot of AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso.
Traditionally, the Italian team belongs to the middle peasant, who in ordinary conditions fight for getting into the top ten. Quata’s plan for the season will be the same, and Pierre Gasley, who represented Red Bull a year ago, will become his main rival.
In recent months, the Russian maintained his shape with the help of karting, and shortly before the Austrian Grand Prix he tested the Formula 1 car on the track in Imola. Perhaps this will allow Kvyat to prove himself a little better than last season, when he became 13th overall.
The new season will also be unique because it is now known which of the pilots will not remain in their team and will move to another next year. The last race with Ferrari should hold Sebastian Vettel. The German could not become the world champion in the Italian stable and won only 14 races in five years. He will have to give way to Carlos Sainz. This situation makes one of the favorites of the season Charles Lecler, on which Ferrari will continue to bet and which will be paid more attention than the German pilot.
Max Verstappen already has a confirmed contract for next season, so he can be calm for his place in Red Bull. Along with Leclair, he will be the main rival of Mercedes pilots Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The adjusted calendar should favor the representative of the Netherlands. For the past two years, Verstappen has won in Austria, and now two races will be held on his team’s home track. With the most successful combination of circumstances, he will be able to get a sufficient backlog, which even Mercedes will be difficult to play, especially since there are not so many stages planned for this.
Hamilton and Bottas traditionally due to the power of their fireballs will claim the championship title. But both this season may be under pressure, which will affect the results. The British pilot, according to the Daily Mail, is trying to agree on a substantial salary increase. At the same time, Bottas replaced George Russell of Williams, who is part of the youth stables of the German stables, and conversations about this in the protracted off-season only intensified.