Coronavirus: F1 postpones three more races amid Covid-19 outbreak

First seven races of the 2020 Formula One season have all been postponed

Formula One has postponed three more races following the outbreak of coronavirus.

Talks took place between all 10 teams, the FIA and F1 officials on Thursday regarding the restructuring of the 2020 calendar, which will need significant changes following the Covid-19 crisis.

Current F1 chairman and chief executive Chase Carey was on the call as was F1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn, along with FIA president Jean Todt and the 10 team principals.

The Bahrain, Vietnamese and Chinese rounds have already been postponed this season, while the curtain-raising round in Australia was cancelled last weekend.

After discussions began over a new-look calendar as well as other important factors, it was agreed that the uncertainty over the crisis left it impossible to stage the next three rounds on the calendar, meaning the Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix will all be rescheduled later in the season where available.

A joint statement from F1 and the FIA read: “In view of the continued global spread of Covid-19 and after ongoing discussions with Formula One and the three promoters, it has today been confirmed that the Dutch Grand Prix 2020, Spanish Grand Prix 2020 and Monaco Grand Prix 2020 will be postponed.

“Due to the ongoing and fluid nature of the Covid-19 situation globally, the FIA, Formula One and the three promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains our primary concern.

“The FIA and Formula One continue to work closely with affected promoters and local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve.

“The FIA and Formula One expect to begin the 2020 Championship season as soon as it is safe to do so after May and will continue to regularly monitor the ongoing Covid-19 situation.”

Zandvoort was due to return to the F1 calendar to host the Dutch Grand Prix for the first time since 1985, and found itself the unlikely opening race of the season following the mass postponements. However, F1’s announcement that they planned to resume racing at the end of May always left it likely that the return to the Netherlands would be called off, given the event was due to take place across 1-3 May.

Barcelona was due to stage the Spanish Grand Prix on 8-10 May, with the blue-riband Monaco Grand Prix two weeks later from 21 to the 24 May. However, these races will no longer take place on their original weekends, and in the case of the Spanish and Monaco races they could find themselves among those under threat of dropping off the calendar when the rescheduled season is unveiled.

It was also agreed that next season’s planned regulation overhaul – which is yet to be agreed between the teams, F1 and FIA – will be delayed by a year until 2022, ensuring that teams will not have to worry about rushing development plans while attempting to squeeze in this year’s daunting schedule.

The move opens the door to the 2020 season potentially overlapping into next year as the same regulations will be in play across the two years.

Both proposals will need to be approved by the FIA Council before they can be rubber stamped.