Austrian government green lights double-header Grand Prix!

The double-header Austrian Grand Prix set to take place on July 5 and 12 at the Red Bull Ring has received the green light from the country’s government.

Austria’s health minister Rudi Anschober signed off on F1’s plans to raise the curtain on its 2020 season at Spielberg after lengthy discussions with local authorities and Liberty Media to ensure that F1’s event takes place under stringent safety measures.

Interestingly, according to Austrian media outlet Die Motorprofis, 500 spectators will be allowed within the confines of the Red Bull Ring circuit, although it’s still unknown on what criteria the group’s selection shall be based or how it will be organized.

F1 season to kick off with run of 8 races in Europe

Formula 1 plans for kicking off its disrupted season include specific travel conditions to haul cargo and staff to venues, with charter flights expected to exclusively service the community to and from hosting countries and the organization on site of a dedicated “biosphere”.

Each team will have its own accommodation arrangement at the track and there will be no inter-team direct contact. No motorhomes are expected to be allowed in the F1 paddock.

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko, who was involved in F1’s talks with the Austrian government recently as the energy drink company is the owner of the Red Bull Ring, said that the race will represent a major milestone for sport during the coronavirus crisis.

“This is the first worldwide sporting event and it will be a great advertisement for Austria and Styria,” Marko said.

Formula 1’s season-opening couple of rounds in Austria are expected to be followed on July 19 by the single-race Hungarian Grand Prix before Silverstone’s double-header tentatively planned for August 2 and 9.