The re-introduction of Imola and the Nurburgring to the Formula 1 calendar is a pretty thick silver lining to the cloud Covid-19 has cast over motorsport. The Italian and German circuits haven’t hosted an F1 race for 14 and seven years respectively, despite having always been fan favourites thanks to their extensive histories and challenging layouts. The revised 2020 calendar has also elevated Portugal’s Portimao Circuit to F1 race host for the first time.
The circuits are the three latest additions to F1’s shortened 2020 line-up, filling the gaps left by three cancelled dates. The US GP at Texas’s Circuit of the Americas and the Mexican GP were due to take place on consecutive weekends from the 23rd October, followed by the Brazil GP on 13th November. But with those nations all facing high rates of coronavirus infection, those races have been prudently called off. Canada, too, has been spiked due to travel restrictions.
It means the 2020 calendar is now down to 13 races, eight fewer than were held last year. But between four and five more dates are expected to be added in the coming weeks, with Mugello – which is Moto GP’s Italian GP home – and Monza already added to the list. Russia’s Sochi is present, in what is expected to be its last year on the F1 calendar, while Silverstone is to host the British Grand Prix on the weekend of 2nd August.
While there had been speculation about the re-introduction of spectators at races late in the year, the prospect now looks increasingly unlikely thanks to Covid-19’s unpredictability. That said, the on-track action has certainly not been lacking so far in 2020. Lewis Hamilton remains the man to beat but his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, has had flashes of real brilliance. Heartening too to see McLaren return to the sharp end of the field, and we can never discount Max Verstappen from taking advantage of any opportunity offered to him.
Seeing a younger generation mix it up with one of the sport’s finest ever drivers on iconic tracks is more than enough excuse to keep tuning in. We’re particularly interested to see how the latest generation of ultra-fast F1 machinery fares at Imola, an ‘old school’ circuit forever tied to the tragic loss of Ayrton Senna but adored by drivers for its flowing layout and changing elevations. As ever, the circus rolls on.