For 2021 Formula 1 aims for calendar with 22 races

Because of the corona pandemic, the 2020 calendar looks completely different than planned. Several races have disappeared from the calendar and new circuits have been added. The calendar is still not 100 percent final, but with enough races still on the program and a closing track in the Middle East, the number of races of fifteen plus seems easily achievable. In 2021 everything should be back to normal.

Probably 22 races

Although 2020 is still uncertain, people are already looking ahead to 2021. After the publication of Liberty Media's quarterly figures, foreman Chase Carey gave some more insight into the ambitions. "We are planning a 2021 season that looks pretty much like what we would have expected it to look like at the beginning of this year", quotes Motorsportweek.com.

"Obviously we qualify that with we don’t have better visibility than anyone else with the virus, what it will look like going forward. We have to realise we’re about five months into the virus and our season in March [2021] is still seven months away."

"It will probably be a 22-race calendar, a calendar that probably starts and finishes about when our calendar has [in previous years]. We may make it so there’s a little more space at the front end of the calendar, and the second half is a little busier so we’ve got a little more flexibility built into it, but I think that’s probably a tweak to it not a real restructuring."

Make a few more agreements

They are also on their way pretty well, because there is already talk about finalising the calendar. Carey: "We haven’t announced 2021 just because of the focus on 2020, we are close to finalising 2021, we have just got a couple of agreements to complete."

And he says, "Clearly as this goes along we’ll know more and there’s always the possibility we’ll make some adjustment as we go forward." That also sounds - together with the increased flexibility in the calendar - that Formula 1 has more safeguards built in for when the virus has to be removed in 2021, if that still causes problems then.