2020 Formula 1 Calendar threadFormula 1

[Blitz24]

Even if Codemasters were planning on releasing these extra tracks they wouldn't announce that they were doing so until far closer to completion. From a public relations perspective it's generally best to not make anything which can be read as a promise (which on the internet is sadly anything other than outright denial) until you are relatively confident you can deliver on what you have (been percieved to have) promised.

Making overly ambitious promises too early is how you wind up with the sort of backlash No Man's Sky faced.

Ultimately that means that at this stage it's utterly irrelevant for us to be discussing whether or not these tracks will wind up being added as DLC or appearing in the 2021 release. The answer is "maybe we will, maybe we wont, but there's no way for us to know".

That is to say, please stop this pointless argument. Nobody wins here and it's not the point of this thread.

Now, returning to the original topic, if they want to add an extra track in Eastern Asia alongside Vietnam there are certainly several interesting options to consider but without having a firm knowledge of the exact situation in each of those countries it's hard to tell.

Shanghai sounds like it's most likely not going to go ahead this year as the PRC understanderbly doesn't want international sporting events which aren't in preperation for the 2022 Winter Olympics within its borders this year. With Suzuka not going ahead and Fuji presumably unlikely on top of that (beyond the fact that Fuji in November would be a brave part of the space-time continuum to host a Grand Prix to begin with) and Australia signalling that its borders will be closed until at least 2021 that leaves Sepang and Buriam as the obvious targets.

And when it comes to that I'm split. Sepang is a fine circuit with a strong track record (pun not intended) in Formula 1, while Buriam brings the prospect of yet more novelty to the calendar.

Would that also make India impossible? (I know it's been 6 years since they last ran there.)

 

[Liquid]

Buddh was a horrid track. Let's not go back there. Ever.

 

[Roger the Horse]

From what I've heard the facilities at Buddh are deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance. I don't know what state Yeongam is currently in but that could potentially be an option if the weather permitted at that time of year.

 

[MagpieRacer]

From what I've heard the facilities at Buddh are deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance. I don't know what state Yeongam is currently in but that could potentially be an option if the weather permitted at that time of year.

I think its been maintained just about. Hosts local series and was hosting the Asia GT Challenge but not sure if it still does. Some would argue that place wasn't fit to host F1 anyway but meh. I thought it was an interesting circuit.

Speaking of which, if they intend to do Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, then surely the Dubai Autodrome should be in with a shot? Thats a grade 1 circuit.

 

[PeterJB]

I really wish I could understand why Mount Panorama is grade 3.

 

[MagpieRacer]

I really wish I could understand why Mount Panorama is grade 3.

FIA appendix for Grade 1 circuits.
https://www.fia.com/file/75979/download/12827

In short, it simply wouldn't be possible to get it to grade 1, facilities and poor access aside, the track simply isn't suitable for Grade 1 requirements.

 

[Silver_Wolf]

Regarding the Indian F1 track (which I had completely forgotten existed!) it's been a COVID-19 quarantine facility during the current virus situation.

Unsure if that has changed since the article was written but was still doing racing up until April this year so presumably it will go back to being a race track once the virus role is complete.

 

[HopAlong]

I also think the teams and FOM disliked going to India with the "entertainment tax" thing. I think it was to do with their government classing F1 as entertainment and not as a sport, so had to pay a cut of the revenue or something.

 

[Silver_Wolf]

I also think the teams and FOM disliked going to India with the "entertainment tax" thing. I think it was to do with their government classing F1 as entertainment and not as a sport, so had to pay a cut of the revenue or something.

Well that was part of why it got taken off the calendar because there was a discrepancy over unpaid taxes and I've subsequently seen another article saying the track has been closed and is up for sale due to unpaid debts so I would imagine it's extremely unlikely unless some funding source it will meet the FIA rules for this year.

 

[Frank McGank]

Even if Codemasters were planning on releasing these extra tracks they wouldn't announce that they were doing so until far closer to completion. From a public relations perspective it's generally best to not make anything which can be read as a promise (which on the internet is sadly anything other than outright denial) until you are relatively confident you can deliver on what you have (been percieved to have) promised.

Making overly ambitious promises too early is how you wind up with the sort of backlash No Man's Sky faced.

Ultimately that means that at this stage it's utterly irrelevant for us to be discussing whether or not these tracks will wind up being added as DLC or appearing in the 2021 release. The answer is "maybe we will, maybe we wont, but there's no way for us to know".

That is to say, please stop this pointless argument. Nobody wins here and it's not the point of this thread.

Now, returning to the original topic, if they want to add an extra track in Eastern Asia alongside Vietnam there are certainly several interesting options to consider but without having a firm knowledge of the exact situation in each of those countries it's hard to tell.

Shanghai sounds like it's most likely not going to go ahead this year as the PRC understanderbly doesn't want international sporting events which aren't in preperation for the 2022 Winter Olympics within its borders this year. With Suzuka not going ahead and Fuji presumably unlikely on top of that (beyond the fact that Fuji in November would be a brave part of the space-time continuum to host a Grand Prix to begin with) and Australia signalling that its borders will be closed until at least 2021 that leaves Sepang and Buriam as the obvious targets.

And when it comes to that I'm split. Sepang is a fine circuit with a strong track record (pun not intended) in Formula 1, while Buriam brings the prospect of yet more novelty to the calendar.

Korea is a possibility. The circuit is still in decent nick. The issue with the old KGP was that it was probably about a decade too early. The Korean petrolhead/motorsport scene was still too small in 2011-ish to warrant a grand prix. The automotive sector has picked up significantly since then, so at least a one-off return would almost certainly see real gains as compared to a decade ago. Korea also has been one of the best countries in managing this whole situation.

 

[SlowGrayAudi]

I feel very sorry for the team staff with that long triple header haul, obviously these are exceptional circumstances but I really hope we don't see these sort of schedules repeated in future.

Oh yeah, we should feel so sorry for people who work in the pinnacle of motorsport and have to travel for work to beautiful locations and work on the fastest racecars on the planet.

They had it much tougher than i did when i spent 9 months straight in Afghanistan working 7 days a week trying not to die every day because terrorists are a real thing.

Pity them

 

[MagpieRacer]

Oh yeah, we should feel so sorry for people who work in the pinnacle of motorsport and have to travel for work to beautiful locations and work on the fastest racecars on the planet.

They had it much tougher than i did when i spent 9 months straight in Afghanistan working 7 days a week trying not to die every day because terrorists are a real thing.

Pity them

Different jobs have different pressures attached to them.

Thank you for your service. Not something I would have been able to do.

 

[SlowGrayAudi]

Different jobs have different pressures attached to them.

Thank you for your service. Not something I would have been able to do.

True, but lets not immortalize them too much. I'd give up both of my nuts to work in F1.

No problem at all, just doing my part. They also help out a lot with paying for my college.

 

[Jimlaad43]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ional-day-ns-square-marina-bay-float-13004214

The Singapore "Float" is being completely redesigned and rebuilt, which is going to affect the Grand Prix circuit, as turns 16-19 are chicanes that go in front of and through the grandstand. This is of course the corners where Nelson Piquet Jr famously crashed. Looking at those renders, there won't be a good place to send an F1 circuit through, so hopefully they'll just bypass those 4 corners and make it a long straight to the current T20-21 chicane. That'll hopefully improve the racing massively there.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Turkey, Bahrain, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi confirmed as the season ending races.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ed-to-F1-calendar.2cVIVl0QDr4OiZa7rPt7Zg.html

 

[Liquid]

Two Bahrain races?

That is a threat.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Two Bahrain races?

That is a threat.

Hey, at least they didn’t decide to mix things up for one of the races by throwing in that awful layout used in 2010.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Two Bahrain races?

That is a threat.

At least it's not two Abu Dhabi or two Sochi's. That said, why were those two of the circuits to survive the culling.

Oh wait, remoteness. Realistically, Abu Dhabi and Sochi are two of the best tracks to go to in a pandemic. They're both miles away from anything. Sochi isn't actually in Sochi, it's the Olympic park near Adler, which is a tiny town, and the Olympic park itself is a perfectly self-contained area. Yas Marina is on a private island with a massive hotel in the circuit. Just stick everyone in there and be done with it. Easy. It's just a shame both circuits will make the 2020 Spanish GP seem like it was a great race...

 

[Wiegert]

A chilly, potentially wet Turkish GP with modern machinery could easily make up for the inclusion of yet another final round in A-bore Dud-bi.

 

[PeterJB]

Any word of them using Bahrain's "oval" layout?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Two Turkeys would've been better.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Two Turkeys would've been better.

One for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas!

 

[Frank McGank]

Doesn’t the season have to go to three continents to be counted as a world championship? It seems like they’re only going to Europe and west Asia. Has the FIA clarified this at all yet?

 

[Liquid]

The FIA has the authority to call it whatever it wants. It was given assurances of world championship status before the season even started, I seem to recall.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Istanbul is one my favourite F1 tracks; don't really know why it was taken off the calendar in the first place. It will be quite a spectacle to see these modern cars annihilate the quad-apex Turn 8 and fly down the back straight. I really think the layout will suit these cars because it's big, fast and open with a few passing opportunities.

 

[DG_Silva]

Hey, at least they didn’t decide to mix things up for one of the races by throwing in that awful layout used in 2010.

Any word of them using Bahrain's "oval" layout?

From Autosport's reporting of the new races added to calendar:

F1 had been considering the much shorter and faster outer circuit, which Ross Brawn has described as being almost an oval, but it's understood that it won't now be used. Sakhir has an alternative in the "endurance" course that was used for the 2010 Bahrain GP.

Personally, I don't see any room to add another GP this year with such short notice (at the very most you could have Paul-Ricard between Imola and Istanbul), so this is going to be the final calendar for this year.

 

[PeterJB]

From Autosport's reporting of the new races added to calendar:



Personally, I don't see any room to add another GP this year with such short notice (at the very most you could have Paul-Ricard between Imola and Istanbul), so this is going to be the final calendar for this year.

So of course they go for the stupid solution. The endurance layout adds nothing to the racing cause you can't overtake and it kills the rhythm.

 

[DG_Silva]

It's not confirmed that they will use the endurance layout, but it's the only option left if they wanted a different circuit.

 

[mustafur]

Shame they are not using the oval layout, I think the minimal Downforce required plus the high amount of laps on a track that would be easy to pass would create a very individual track with a surprise pecking order given how much technical parts of the track are taken away.

 

[ShiftingGears]

So of course they go for the stupid solution. The endurance layout adds nothing to the racing cause you can't overtake and it kills the rhythm.

Indeed, the Bahrain layout is a lesson in why more corners doesnt mean a better circuit.