Global Information2020 Formula One World Championship information
The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 71st running of the Formula One World Championship. It marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship.[1] The championship was recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.
The championship was originally due to start in March,[2] but the start was postponed until July in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was originally due to be contested over a record of 22 Grands Prix, but as some races were cancelled and new races were added to replace them, a total of 17 races were run.[3] The season started in July with the Austrian Grand Prix[4] and ended in December with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[3] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first eight rounds of the championship were run behind closed doors, with the rest of the races being run at a reduced capacity or also behind closed doors due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes entered the season as the reigning World Drivers' and World Constructors' champions, respectively, after they both won their sixth championship in 2019. At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Mercedes secured their seventh consecutive Constructors' Championship making them the only team to win seven consecutive championships, breaking Ferrari's record from 1999 to 2004. Mercedes also maintained the distinction of being the only team to win the championship since the 2014 turbo-hybrid engine regulation changes were enacted. Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven World Drivers' Championships at the Turkish Grand Prix and broke Schumacher's previous record of 91 career wins at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel endured a difficult season with Ferrari, finishing thirteenth in the standings and amassing only 33 points with one podium finish (third in Turkey). This would also be his final season with Ferrari, as he would go on to join Aston Martin—the rebrand of Racing Point—for the 2021 season, where he would spend two seasons before retiring from F1 at the end of 2022 season.
- ^ Delaney, Michael (2 January 2020). "Formula 1 marks 70th anniversary with special 2020 logo designs". F1i.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Diary dates: The 2020 F1 calendar, pre-season testing details and F1 car launch schedule". F1i.com. 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Formula 1 to return to Turkey as four more races are added to the 2020 F1 calendar". Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via formula1.com.
- ^ "Hamilton dominates practice as F1 returns". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.