Formula One
Lewis Hamilton won a turbulent Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello. The race had two red flags, and 8 drivers abandoning it. The British driver has now 90 victories in the category and six in the 2020 season.
Hamilton finished ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with Alexander Albon in third. The victory gave Hamilton a 55 points lead over Bottas.
The Briton is one victory away from Michael Schumacher's all-time record and set to equal his seven titles.
Formula 1 has confirmed the addition of 4 races to the 2020 season: Turkey on November 15, Bahrain on November 29 and December 6, and finally Abu Dhabi on December 13.
"We can confirm that Turkey, Bahrain (hosting two races), and Abu Dhabi will be part of the revised season and want to express our thanks to the hard work of all our promoters and partners in making this 17-race season possible," stated the racing organization.
Within the statement, Formula 1 also announced that some of the remaining races of the year will be set to receive a limited number of spectators, with further details to be released at a later time.
Formula 1 decided to remove the Brazilian, Mexican and US races from the 2020 calendar. The reasons for the decision were the tight schedule and, mainly, the Covid-19 outbreak.
The three countries currently have some of the worst infection rates in the world. The US Grand Prix, in Austin, Texas, would be held on October 23. A week later, Formula 1 would travel to Mexico City. The Brazilian race, in São Paulo, was initially scheduled for November 15.
Before the Formula One season-opening race in Austria, multiple drivers took a knee in support of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests against racism and police brutality.
While all drivers wore shirts stating "Black Lives Matter" or "End Racism", six drivers did not kneel and kept standing. During a virtual meeting, the drivers previously couldn't agree on a unanimous conclusion regarding taking the knee, making it an individual decision.
As the first Formula 1 race of 2020 approaches this weekend, the Mercedes-AMG team have announced a new car livery.
The organisation commits to "fighting racism and discrimination in all its forms" as their ranks feature only 3% of people identified from minority groups and 12% women.
In a press release, the team stated: "the Black Lives Matter movement has shone a searching light on how much we need new measures and actions in the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination".
The announcement that motorsport fans awaited is finally here: Formula 1 is ready to rumble in Austria with a race on July 5. Both Austria and the UK are hosting two races each this year, a development that is expected to streamline operations and maximize the number of races in a season that starts 16 weeks behind the original schedule.
"While we currently expect the season to commence without fans at our races we hope that over the coming months the situation will allow us to welcome them back once it is safe to do," stated further the Chairman and CEO of Formula 1, Chase Carey.
Ferrari Formula One team principal Mattia Binotto said on Thursday that the Scuderia is exploring the possibility of entering the IndyCar series.
Formula One’s new budget cap of $145 million for teams from 2021 would lead to staff being made redundant and the Italian carmaker was looking at options to ensure its employees retain their jobs.
"Ferrari feels a lot of social responsibility towards its employees and we want to be sure that for each of them there will be a workspace in the future," Binotto told Sky in Italy.
Following the withdrawal of the McLaren Racing team from the Australian Grand Prix, after a team member was tested positive for the coronavirus and isolated, the Grand Prix race was canceled. The team principles discussed the situation and they "concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead."
After a team member of McLaren got tested positively for Covid-19 the team decided to withdraw from the Grand Prix. The team member went into self-isolation as soon as they started to show symptoms and is now being treated by local health authorities.