Formula 1 is “close” to finalising a 2021 season calendar that will target a record 22 grands prix and may start slightly later than normal.
The 2020 F1 season was due to be a record 22-race championship but this was wrecked by the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the start of the campaign to be postponed and for the scheduled to be heavily revised.
Five races have been completed since the season belatedly began in early July, with 16 grands prix in total expected – including previously unplanned races at Mugello, Algarve, the Nurburgring and Imola.
F1 CEO Chase Carey says Algarve’s first F1 race and return of Imola have been “inserted as one-offs” and the long-term “traditional” arrangements with regular tracks will return with F1’s calendar “pretty well set”.
He explained in a call with investors about F1 owner Liberty Media’s Q2 financial earnings on Monday that F1 was “close to finalising 2021” but had not announced anything because of the ongoing efforts in 2020.
“We are planning a 2021 season that looks pretty much like what we would have expected it to look like the beginning of this year,” he said.
“Obviously, we qualify that with [the fact] we don’t have any better visibility than anybody else what this virus is going to look like as we go forward.
“We’re about five months into the virus and our season in March would be still seven months away. So, there’s a long time, and conversations on vaccines, and treatments, and testing and the like, will continue to evolve.
“We are planning on a 2021 that looks like we would expect it, which probably will be a 22-race calendar, a calendar that probably starts and finishes about when our calendar has [traditionally].
“We may make it so there’s a little more space in the front end of it and the second half is a little busier.
“We’ve got a little more flexibility built into it but I think that’s probably a tweak to it not a real restructuring.”
The 2020 season is scheduled to end in Abu Dhabi no later than mid-December.
A shorter 2021 pre-season has previously been mooted ahead of a traditional mid-March start.
There are no races taking place in the Americas this season, while Asian races may also not happen following the cancellation of races in Japan and Singapore and doubts over Vietnam and China.
Even the events that have taken place in Europe have been affected, with strict protocols for personnel attending and no spectators allowed.
F1 may have some races this year with a small number of fans and Carey said it could take advantage of other competitions taking place during F1’s off-season to assess what happens in 2021.
“We’ll obviously have a lot of sports ahead of us,” he said.
“What will the NBA, the NHL do as they get to next season, and the football leagues in Europe do, as their seasons get going?
“So I think we do have the benefit of a lot of things that will be in front of us as templates around the world.”
Several F1 races are paid for by regional or national government funding and this has been a roadblock for events that cannot offset that cost with fan attendance, with F1 having to negotiate agreements that are “all over the place” to satisfy specific circumstances.
Carey said a mix of pent-up demand, the need for business to resume, and the prospect of reopening tourism initiatives mean F1 can offer an important platform when the pandemic eases.
“The conversation and interest is not, I think, negative given our calendar for 2021,” he said.
“The conversations we have right now [about the impact] are probably early stage, because they’re not for next year.
“Next year, they’re pretty much done and we’re just finishing the agreements for it.
“We’re not pushing 2022 and beyond but there are still parties that we’ve talked to. Their interest hasn’t diminished.”
