Silverstone has agreed terms with the owners of Formula 1, Liberty Media, to hold two races on consecutive weekends on July 26 and August 2.
Silverstone had already confirmed its plans to run these Grand Prix races behind closed doors. The plans are subject to government approval, and require all safety conditions to be met before being given the official “green light” to proceed.
Silverstone’s managing director Stuart Pringle stated: “I’m delighted we’ve got an agreement in principle to host not one but two Formula 1 races at Silverstone this summer.”
Pringle went on to say that he has been “hugely heartened and humbled” by the response of those with tickets for this year’s event in their understanding of the situation, stating “the vast majority” have asked for their passes to be transferred to 2021, rather than requesting a refund.
Pringle concluded: “As a thank you to those that want to move their tickets forward to next year, we’re working with Sky to create some exclusive content only available to ticket holders for the 2020 grand prix.”
Formula 1 is implementing extensive and rigorous measures to allow various closed-doors races to be resumed safely. F1’s motorsports chief Ross Brawn spoke of plans to create a “bubble of isolation” around the sport and travelling personnel, to minimise the possible risk of infection to anybody involved.
The sport plans to start the season with a double header at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on July 5 and July 12, then break for a week, before heading to Silverstone for a similar double weekend of racing.
While a schedule for the rest of the season is yet to be officially concluded, the Belgian Grand Prix at the famous Spa circuit – scheduled for the end of August – has been given official permission from local government to go ahead without spectators.
A statement from the Belgian region of Wallonia read: “The Belgian Grand Prix can be held behind closed doors, as well as all the necessary prior training.” The Spa-Francorchamps circuit added on its website that it had implemented health and prevention measures to comply with these aforementioned directives.
