Formula 1 has confirmed three more Grands Prix for the 2020 season, including a return to the iconic venues of Nurburgring and Imola.
With Covid-19 still devastating the Americas, F1 has been forced to cancel planned races in the US, Mexico and Brazil but has found three very appealing alternatives in Europe.
The first is the Nurburgring, which has not held a race since 2013, but will make a one-off comeback on the weekend of October 9-11 under the banner of the Eifel Grand Prix.
That will be followed by the first Portuguese GP since 1996 on October 23-25, but rather than its historic venue at Estoril, instead, Portimao on the Algarve will make its F1 debut.
And finally, Imola makes a much-anticipated return for the first time since 2006, but rather than use its former name of the San Marino GP, instead, the race will be called the Emilia Romagna GP.
Imola will also only host a two-day weekend on October 31- November 1 rather than the normal three, and makes Italy the first country to host three championship rounds in one season.
“We are pleased that we continue to make strong progress in finalising our plans for the 2020 season and are excited to welcome Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola to the revised calendar,” F1 CEO Chase Carey said.
“We want to thank the promoters, the teams, and the FIA for their full support in our efforts to bring our fans exciting racing this season during an unprecedented time.
“We also want to pay tribute to our incredible partners in the Americas and look forward to being back with them next season when they will once again be able to thrill millions of fans around the world.”
This announcement takes the number of confirmed races to 13 and means it is almost certain to reach the minimum target of 15 that was set, with at least the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi GP’s to round out the season.