It has been a long 184 days since the last Formula 1 race, but now there is some good news! The first race of the 2020 season is just 31 days away and the greatest traveling circus will get back into action with a doubleheader at The Red Bull Ring in Austria on the 5th of July 2020.
Racing was put on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation across the world and F1 had canceled some season-opening races, but with the situation now being more or less under control, F1 along with its teams, partners, governments and promoters have decided to kick start the 2020 season in Europe with a doubleheader at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 5th and 12th July, followed by Hungary on 19th July and another doubleheader at Silverstone in the UK on 2nd and 9th August.
Formula 1 Management has revealed the first 8 races of the season and with time plan to add another 9-10 races to complete the 2020 season by December. The opening races will see no spectators and is going to be a closed event, but hopes that as the COVID situation stabilises further, fans may be allowed to attend only if Formula 1 finds it is safe to do so.
So now that we know the season is set to begin, we are going to see the new cars in action for the first time, but the new season schedule may prove to be a thorn in Lewis Hamilton's attempt to clinch his 7th World Driver Championship. Since 2017, Lewis Hamilton has not won at the Austrian GP and finished 5th in 2019, and is a strong track for Red Bull and Max Verstappen. With Austria being a doubleheader, Max may well be leading the championship at the start of the season.
Hungary is a strong track for Lewis, but not so much for Bottas, with Bottas not finishing 8th in 2019 after qualifying 2nd and finishing 5th in 2018. Max on the other hand won pole in 2019, and battled Lewis in the opening laps but ended up being second in the race. With Bottas not being able to provide Hamilton the much-needed support, it could be advantage, Max. Silverstone is where Lewis shines, winning in 2019 and almost winning in 2018 when he took pole but lost out to a faster Sebastian Vettel, Lewis might still be able to contend for the championship.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari also might want to get into the action as Charles performance in the European leg of 2019 was amazing, winning in Italy, third in Silverstone, second in Austria and let’s not ignore the looming threat of a four time out of contract world champion Sebastian Vettel, who will be looking to make the most of this season after a dismal performance in 2019 and prove his worth.
Who will come out on top at the end of the first 8 races is anyone's guess, I am just glad the season is set to begin and we can see some great racing again. Onwards to hearing the sweet sweet sound of cars and ‘Lights out and away we go’ on the telly.
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