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How Formula One will return - chartered flights but no champagne and Mercedes 'block' format change

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (R) and second placed Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel celebrate on the podium as they spray with Champagner after the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix - ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (R) and second placed Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel celebrate on the podium as they spray with Champagner after the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix - ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images

As Formula One confirmed an eight-race European calendar, starting in Austria on July 5 and including an unprecedented double-header at Silverstone in early August, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner accused Toto Wolff, his Mercedes counterpart, of blocking a more innovative racing format to protect Lewis Hamilton’s world championship chances.

With no crowds expected at circuits until at least September, there is pressure from broadcasters for F1 to find a creative solution to enliven the Austrian and British double-headers, fearing that identical spectacles on successive weekends could dampen public interest. One suggestion has been to replace qualifying at the second races with a 30-minute race, with drivers starting in reverse order of their previous finishing positions. While the plan proved popular among the teams, it has been vetoed by Wolff.

“I think we’ve got a unique situation this year, and by having two races at the same venue, it would seem the perfect time to try something different at the second event,” Horner said. “Otherwise, with stable weather conditions, we’re likely to have the same outcome in race two as we have in race one. The only person who wasn’t particularly supportive of the proposal was Toto, because he thought it would interfere with Lewis’ campaign for a seventh world championship, and it would be too much of a variable.”

Wolff has consistently opposed the notion of a reverse grid, arguing that it was an excuse for Mercedes’ rivals to cover up their own flaws. But there is plenty of evidence that this summer’s eight races will be distinct enough from the norm already. As revealed by Telegraph Sport last Sunday, the European swing is to start with two Austrian races, before moving 260 miles east to Hungary, then back to Silverstone for two grands prix on August 2 and 9. The teams move on to Spain and Belgium in late August, before concluding in Italy on September 6. The second Austrian race will be named after Spielberg circuit’s home region of Styria, while the encore at Silverstone will be known as the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

To satisfy the host governments, all members of the F1 paddock will be subject to the strictest health protocols throughout. Anybody admitted is expected to be tested every 48 hours for Covid-19, with teams encouraged to book their own chartered flights wherever possible and to arrange private transfers between venues, hotels and airports. Social-distancing will be rigorously enforced, and there will be none of the traditional champagne-spraying at podium celebrations.

F1's new-look European summer
F1's new-look European summer

Chase Carey, F1’s chief executive, remains confident of arranging a minimum 15-race F1 season despite the mammoth logistical challenges. Lucrative events in Russia and Azerbaijan are likely to be added in late September, with Singapore postponed until 2021 due to the complexity of staging a street race behind closed doors. Japan remains a possibility for October, before an Americas block of races in the US, Mexico and Brazil in November, and a Middle Eastern finale in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in mid-December.