FORMULA ONE · 2020
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 . The championship was recogni
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.
Each team was required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli .
Across the season, four drivers drove as a test or third driver in free practice sessions. Jack Aitken and Roy Nissany both drove for Williams at one and three Grands Prix, respectively, Robert Kubica drove for Alfa Romeo Racing at five Grands Prix and Mick Schumacher drove for Haas at one Grand Prix. Schumacher and Callum Ilott were entered to appear in the first practice session for the Eifel Grand Prix , driving for Alfa Romeo Racing and Haas, respectively, but the session was cancelled due to bad weather conditions.
Red Bull GmbH , the parent company of Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso , renamed Toro Rosso as " Scuderia AlphaTauri ". The team uses the constructor name "AlphaTauri". The name is derived from Red Bull's AlphaTauri fashion brand .
After a year's absence, Esteban Ocon returned to racing in Formula One after signing a contract with Renault , replacing Nico Hülkenberg . Robert Kubica left Williams at the end of the 2019 championship and joined Alfa Romeo Racing as a reserve driver. Nicholas Latifi , the 2019 Formula 2 Championship runner-up, replaced Kubica at Williams.
After Romain Grosjean suffered burns to his hands following a crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix , Haas promoted test driver Pietro Fittipaldi to make his debut at the Sakhir Grand Prix . Grosjean also missed the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix because of his recovery after the crash in Bahrain ; Fittipaldi raced again for the team. Lewis Hamilton tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the Sakhir Grand Prix and was forced to sit out. He was replaced by George Russell , with J...
After purchasing the commercial rights to the sport from CVC Capital Partners in January 2017, Liberty Media announced plans to expand the Formula One calendar using a concept they termed "destination races" and modelled on the Singapore Grand Prix . Under the "destination races" model, Grands Prix would be established in or near key tourist destinations and integrate racing, entertainment and social functions. Several countries and venues announced plans to bid for a Grand Prix, [... The rules surrounding jump starts and the weighbridge were relaxed with the race stewards able to hand out less severe punishments for missing the weighbridge and jump starts. In March, teams agreed that the 2020 Championship could run into early 2021 to ensure the running of as many races as possible. Such a move would also ensure that eight Grands Prix could be held, over three different continents, thereby meeting the minimum number of races needed for the season to qualify as a World Championship. In a statement in late April, Formula One CEO Chase Carey declared the intention to begin the season on 5 July and a target to hold between 15 and 18 races overall. In June, the first eight races of a rescheduled calendar were confirmed, with the season expected to begin on 5 July with the Austrian Grand Prix . This revised calendar included two newly named one-off events—both second races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone —known as the Styrian and the 70th Anniversary Grands Prix, re... In August, it was announced that Formula One would return to Istanbul Park for the first Turkish Grand Prix since the 2011 season, together with the debut of the Sakhir Grand Prix , to be held at the Bahrain International Circuit , using the configuration of the track called "Outer Circuit". They join the rescheduled Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix as the final four races of the season, bringing the calendar to seventeen races.
Teams were allowed to use an additional MGU-K compared to 2019 to compensate for the increased demands of contesting the originally planned twenty-two races. [ clarification needed ] Drivers who participated in free practice sessions were eligible for additional FIA Super Licence points. Any driver who completed a minimum 100 km (62 mi) during a free practice session received an additional Super Licence point on the condition that they do not commit a driving infraction. Drivers could only accrue ten Super Licence points across a three-season period from free practice sessions. The rules around helmet designs were relaxed with drivers allowed to change their design as...