Formula 1 aims for sixteen races in 2020, but what are the possibilities?

The Formula 1 season of 2020 will start next week, but after the first eight races on the calendar, nothing is known at all. Apparently F1 is going to change that in Austria.

What's for sure?

There are some things that are almost certain. The first eight races are already on the calendar and are holding the Formula 1 circus in Europe. After the Italian Grand Prix we have eight races, but Formula 1 wants more. For the time being Europe seems to be the best to stay in and it is not surprising that extra circuits are being searched for.

According to Auto, Motor und Sport there is already an agreement between F1 and Portimao. The Portuguese circuit was already tested by Ferrari last week and that would not be a coincidence. Imola and Jerez, options previously considered plausible, are no longer in the picture for a Grand Prix in 2020, according to Motorsport-total.com.

The holes

Then there's a lot of stuff going on. There is a chance for a Russian Grand Prix and maybe even two, but because of the situation in the country it is questionable if there can be raced. An alternative for Russia could be Hockenheim, which previously indicated to GPblog.com that they can't keep a spot free forever.

Then on Thursday there was a sensational news from Red Bull top man Helmut Marko. He announced that there will be two races in China. According to Marko they would even be fixed. It is remarkable that the country where the big pandemic originated, will soon be able to organize two races.

Sixteen races

Besides China, there will be races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi at least at the end of the season. Just like the first races, these races are already fixed, but will only be presented in the complete calendar. So there are still a lot of holes, but Zak Brown is positive about Motorsport-total.com.

''I think we'll have up to 16 races in 2020. Eighteen will be very difficult, but if I were flying to Vegas now and I had to bet my money on something, I would bet on sixteen races. That's good, because for a long time it was thought that there wouldn't be a season at all," concludes Brown.