Formula 1 is waiting for overhauled sporting, technical and financial regulations for 2021 but that’s still a year away. The relative stability might give 2020 a feel of ‘F1 2019: The Sequel’, but there’s still been a few changes, so what’s new this year?
Vietnam joins the party
Primarily known in the western hemisphere for a brutal civil war and, recently, as a backpacker’s holiday destination, Vietnam joins the Formula 1 schedule this year. A 23-turn semi-permanent street circuit is near completion in the My Dinh district of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. The layout has taken inspiration from several other circuits, including Monaco, Sepang and the Nurburgring, while a 1.5km-long full-throttle section should facilitate overtaking. The track will be the first new circuit to join the calendar since Baku’s arrival in 2016 and is scheduled to take place on 3-5 April, as the third round of the campaign.
Zandvoort is back
The Dutch Grand Prix was a near-mainstay on the Formula 1 calendar for the first 35 years of the championship’s history, but after an absence of equal duration Zandvoort is back for 2020. The circuit has been truncated and altered since Niki Lauda’s 1985 victory while for Formula 1’s return the track has been resurfaced, with modifications to Gerlachbocht and, most prominently, the now-banked final corner. Paddock facilities and fan access has also been upgraded and altered. Formula 1 will race into Zandvoort on 1-3 May, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 part of the support package.
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Two Canadians
Canadian Formula 1 fans had to wait a decade following the exit of Jacques Villeneuve until the arrival of next representative Lance Stroll, and now three years on there will be two Canadians on the grid. Last year’s Formula 2 runner-up Nicholas Latifi has stepped up to a race seat with Williams, having spent 2019 as its test driver, after prior spells at Renault and Force India. Latifi will be the only rookie on the grid in 2020, though he won’t be the only driver who didn’t race in Formula 1 in 2019.
The return of Ocon
Ocon lost his Force India seat at the end of 2018 in the aftermath of the Lawrence Stroll-led buyout and was unable to find a drive elsewhere. Having been part of Mercedes’ junior scheme since 2015 he sought refuge as the manufacturer’s reserve driver while trying to land a drive for 2020. He and his management team succeeded and he has joined Renault on a two-year deal, severing ties with Mercedes, to link up with Daniel Ricciardo.
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Alpha joins Alfa
In 2019 the Alfa Romeo name returned to Formula 1 and just 12 months later there will be a case of homonyms for commentators and pundits, with Alpha Tauri now on the grid. Since buying Minardi in 2005 Red Bull’s junior team has been known as Toro Rosso, in a nod to its Italian structure, but for this year it has been re-named Alpha Tauri. That is because Red Bull wants to give greater publicity to its clothing arm, which was launched in 2016; Alpha Tauri’s ‘new team’ will be unveiled on February 14 in Salzburg.
More races mean less testing
Formula 1’s record-breaking 22-event calendar has come with a compromise. In order to allow for another grand prix six days of track running has been scrapped. Pre-season testing has been shortened from eight to six days (split across two three-day tests) while in-season running has been abandoned, meaning there will be no post-race tests, which in 2019 took place in Bahrain and Spain. Pirelli has still been allocated its 25 days of private running, as has been the case since 2017, with the company focusing on the larger 18-inch sizes that will debut in 2021.
Points make licences
The FIA introduced a Super Licence points system for 2015 that decreed youngsters needed 40 in order to race in Formula 1. The ever-changing landscape of junior formula championships means that the points allocation has changed over the half-decade but for 2020 there will be a tweak that allows youngsters more chances to gain points. Should an up-and-coming racer complete a Formula 1 practice session, of minimum duration 100km, then they will receive an additional Super Licence point, which they will be permitted to do up to 10 times a year. That could tip anyone close to 40 over the magic barrier.
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Lighter penalties
Formula 1 stewards are often constrained by the black-and-white regulations but a couple of stipulations have been relaxed for 2020. Drivers will no longer be automatically consigned to the back of the grid in the event of missing the weighbridge call – as happened to Pierre Gasly in Azerbaijan and Sergio Perez in the United States last year – with fines or other sanctions now possible. Likewise the transgression for a jump start; previously stewards had no choice but to hand out a drive-through penalty but time sanctions are now possible.
The chequered flag is back
The waving of a chequered flag signalled the end of motor races for decades but for 2019 Formula 1 altered the regulations such that the lighting panel counted as the official finish of the race. In Japan a glitch in the system meant the chequered flag panel was shown to Valtteri Bottas as he concluded the penultimate lap, officially ending the race. Sergio Perez’s late clash with Pierre Gasly thus technically did not happen. For 2020 there will, again, be both a physical and virtual chequered flag but the end of the race will be signalled by the real-life waving of the fabric.
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