F1 2020 European calendar set to be revealed as Silverstone double-header gets government approval

Formula One bosses will announce in the next 48 hours the European calendar for 2020, with the Silverstone double-header on August 2 and 9 having been given the provisional go-ahead by Government.

The formal proposals for F1’s return to British shores post-lockdown and the sport’s wider travel rights amid the impending quarantine measures have yet to be officially signed off.

They are currently under consideration with Oliver Dowden, Matt Hancock and Priti Patel within Government, but the thumbs-up for the Silverstone races have been seen as a formality since Boris Johnson intervened to “make it happen” a week ago.

A source close to negotiations said this morning that F1 was looking to “announce its European calendar either tomorrow or Wednesday”.

The biggest stumbling block for Silverstone and the wider calendar had been around the 14-day travel quarantine first announced on May 22, but the Government has agreed to lift that around F1 and other sports with a sufficient biosecure environment.

F1 chiefs are believed to have put forward some of the most stringent conditions to enable racing to go ahead behind closed doors. The operation of those working at Silverstone will be slashed by more than a third compared to the usual British Grand Prix.

Those at the races will stay at designated hotels to help minimise the risk, with each team kept separately. All team personnel will be tested before flying and all personnel will be tested every two days during a race weekend.

F1 will officially begin in Austria on July 5 with back-to-back race weekends, with races also planned for Hungary, Spain, Belgium and Italy.

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