Only this year has the chance to be the youngest pilot to become world champion: Max Verstappen. © APA / afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC
Almost four months late and an emergency calendar instead of a record: Because of Corona, the Formula 1 World Championship 2020 will start this weekend in Spielberg under very special circumstances. The start of the 71st World Cup season is without spectators and is historic.
29. June 2020
Lewis Hamilton starts his 7th title. The Mercedes driver can level off Michael Schumacher’s record mark with a new World Cup triumph. If the Englishman still has several chances despite his 35 years, the 22-year-old Dutchman Max Verstappen can only become the youngest world champion this year and replace Sebastian Vettel in this regard. The German starts his last year with Ferrari, where Charles Leclerc has long been the pilot of the future.
Teams grope in the dark
Only eight European races instead of the originally planned 22 seasonal races worldwide are provisionally fixed. Depending on the course of the Covid 19 season, you are still planning on the 15 races, because then the TV money is due. But nothing is fixed, and due to the many unknowns alone, 2020 could be one of the most exciting world championships ever.
Corona measures in Spielberg: Formula 1 pays close attention to safety. © APA / INGRID KORNBERGER
Eight races would be enough to award a title, but put the teams under particular pressure. Most recently there were two Verstappen home victories for Red Bull in Spielberg, the Mercedes, however, because of the altitude of the race track in Styria and recently always hot, only as extras around the course. This time, however, everyone is probably groping in the dark.
Historic start in Austria
In any case, the Spielberg races are historic in several respects. A Formula 1 season is opening for the first time in Austria, for the first time there are two World Championship races on two consecutive weekends on the same race track. For the first time, Formula 1 races also take place without spectators and thus as a “ghost race”.
This is how the race weekend in Spielberg works. © APA
Autor: cst / what
