F1 2020: It’s looking up for the season

Almost every day I receive press releases and peruse articles from the mainstream media, announcing yet another circuit and government giving the green light for a round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship to be held behind closed doors and under strict medical safety protocols, within their respective countries.

The release of an F1 preliminary calendar is encouraging as is the number of circuits, not currently on the calendar, offering the use of their facilities to ensure the season will go ahead. Just a few days ago it looked as though the 2020 F1 season was in a no-go situation due to the global pandemic, but then the motorsport fairy got to work.

This incredible turnaround brought to mind a song from the Beatles album, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, titled Getting Better. The lyrics sum up my sentiments, as McCartney sings “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time”, followed by the somewhat cynical comment from Lennon: “It can’t get no worse.”

One could hardly get a more concise overview of the season so far. But it does look as though we will have a championship after all. Ross Brawn, MD of Formula One, was reported as saying just a few days ago: “It is a challenge, but I think it was a challenge putting the European season together. Two or three weeks ago it looked impossible. But now we’ve got a decent calendar put together.”

He continued: “The situation changes on an almost daily basis. In the main it is getting better, but there are still some countries going through the worst. So we need to give them time, to see how quickly they are able to recover. Brawn added: “There are various options. I think we can put a decent season together. I can’t honestly tell you what shape it will be, but there will be enough races to form a viable championship.”

With the first eight races reasonably well settled, it is the so called “flyaway” events that are still an issue. F1 chief Chase Carey is quoted as saying: “There are races which are on the calendar which will probably still not occur.” This could require a return to Europe where alternative tracks are available. Some events in doubt are Singapore, Japan and Azerbaijan.

One country determined to stay on the programme is Brazil and that really could be a problem. Billed as the penultimate race of the season, the organisers are convinced it will take place in front of a stadium full of spectators. At present that is hard to comprehend as Brazil ranks fourth in the world with deaths about to top 30 000, plus 500 000 recorded cases of coronavirus – and it is still yet to peak. One trusts common sense will prevail.

It is just over three weeks before the first and second Grand Prix of 2020 get under way at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The weekend will follow the normal format of a three-day event, with two practice sessions on Friday, a final practice on Saturday morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon and the race on Sunday, 5 July

Although a two-day race format had been proposed for the season, it was felt that drivers and teams would need an extra day to assist in removing the cobwebs developed after the long delay since the pre-season testing earlier this year. Many of the teams will be running private test days prior to the race.

Mercedes have announced a two-day test at Silverstone and Ferrari have followed with a similar format but full details of the Scuderia’s shakedown are yet to be revealed. Although the governing body does not permit in-season testing a very convenient loophole is provided, as teams are allowed to use a car that is at least two years old and run on Pirelli Academy tyres. McLaren’s Lando Norris has already taken advantage of this scenario by running a Carlin F3 car at Silverstone. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will be using a 2018 Mercedes W09 for their two-day warm up.

The news surrounding the Williams team is of great concern. After the announcement of the company’s financial results for 2019, it became obvious the Grove outfit urgently needs significant investment to survive in F1. If no such investment could be secured then the team would effectively be on the market.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams assured all this would be the last resort in the company’s bid to secure the future ofthe nine time Constructors’ champion. She was quoted as saying: “Williams as a family have always put our Formula One team first. Seeking inward investment at this juncture is in line with that philosophy to protect our team’s future, to protect the people that work for us.”

It was also a premature end to the contract with ROKit, the team’s title sponsor, having taken over the role from Martini at the end of 2019. Only due to end in 2023, Williams stated the team had met its contractual obligations to ROKit. No reason for the action was forthcoming, but she was confident a new sponsor would be found. “We are fully funded throughout the remainder of this year to continue racing,” she said. We all hope that the name will be gracing the F1 grid for many years to come.