Formula 1 to start in July

FORMULA 1 boss Chase Carey says he plans to start the season in Austria in July, after France became the latest country to postpone its race.

French Grand Prix organisers said on Monday the race at Paul Ricard on 28 June was off because of the country’s ban on major events until mid-July.

But Carey said he was “increasingly confident with the progress of plans to begin the season this summer”.

He said the first race was expected to take place in Austria on 3-5 July. Carey added: “September, October and November, would see us race in Eurasia, Asia and the Americas, finishing the season in the Gulf in December, with Bahrain before the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi, having completed between 15 and 18 races. We will publish our finalised calendar as soon as we possibly can.

“We expect the early races to be without fans but hope fans will be part of our events as we move further into the schedule.

“We still have to work out many issues, like the procedures for the teams and our other partners to enter and operate in each country. bbc.com