F1 confirms final 2020 races with Turkey return and Bahrain double
Istanbul Park back on calendar for first time since 2011, while Bahrain to host two races before Abu Dhabi finale on December 13; 17-race season confirmed with China cancelled and Vietnam to follow; Fans to return at some events
By James Galloway
Last Updated: 25/08/20 11:01pm
Formula 1 has confirmed the final four races for the 2020 season, including Turkey's return after a nine-year absence and two grands prix in Bahrain.
With Abu Dhabi staging the final round on December 13, it means the sport has constructed an impressive 17-race calendar after the delays and restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Having run all six races so far behind closed doors, F1 has also confirmed that a "number of races" will "be open to a limited number of fans".
But China, which was the first race postponed earlier this year, has been formally cancelled for 2020.
Vietnam's Hanoi street race is also expected to be called off officially in due course.
Turkey's comeback the latest 2020 return
Turkey's Istanbul Park is back on the F1 schedule for the first time since 2011, with the undulating circuit previously proving popular with drivers and fans - particularly the unique and challenging fast quadruple-apex Turn Eight.
Istanbul's return means F1 will now race on five venues not on the original 2020 calendar, which was scheduled to be 22 races across five continents before the COVID-19 crisis struck. Mugello, Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola are the four others.
Turkey, Nurburgring and Imola were last present on an F1 calendar together in 2006. Italy's Mugello and Portimao in Portugal's Algarve are completely-new additions.
The final 2020 F1 calendar
COMPLETED: Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring
COMPLETED: Styrian GP, Red Bull Ring
COMPLETED: Hungarian GP, Budapest
COMPLTED: British GP, Silverstone
COMPLETED: 70th Anniversary GP, Silverstone
COMPLETED: Spanish GP, Barcelona
August 30: Belgian GP, Spa-Francorchamps
September 6: Italian GP, Monza
September 13: Tuscan GP, Mugello
September 27: Russian GP, Sochi
October 11: Eifel GP, Nurburgring
October 25: Portuguese GP, Portimao
November 1: Emilia Romagna GP, Imola
November 15: Turkish GP, Istanbul
November 29: Bahrain GP, Sakhir
December 6: Sakhir GP, Sakhir
December 13: Abu Dhabi GP, Yas Marina
Bahrain will be the third venue this year to host back-to-back events after Austria and Silverstone.
While the first event on November 29 will run under the usual Bahrain GP name, the second a week later will be called the Sakhir GP in reference to the area the track is situated.
It had been mooted that a second event would run on Bahrain's shorter oval-like circuit, but there was no mention of any layout change for the December 6 race in F1's announcement.
With the final three rounds forming the rejigged 2020 season's fourth and final triple-header, Abu Dhabi's usual season finale has been pushed back by a fortnight from its original November 29 slot to 12 days before Christmas.
"This year has presented Formula 1 and the world with an unprecedented challenge and we want to pay tribute to everyone across Formula 1, the FIA, the teams, and our partners who have made this possible," said F1 chairman Chase Carey.
"While we are all disappointed that we have not been able to return to some of our planned races this year we are confident our season has started well and will continue to deliver plenty of excitement with traditional, as well as new, races that will entertain all our fans."
December 13 is the latest finish to a Formula 1 season since 1963, when the campaign concluded three days after Christmas. The 2009 season, Jenson Button's title-winning year, was the last one to feature 17 rounds.
