F1 2020: Pre-Season Guide

February has finally arrived which means that the 2020 Formula One season is a month and a half away, so here is a guide to pre-season. 

From car unveilings to pre-season testing, this next month is crucial for teams to understand their new cars which is set to get them through 22 race weekends, although it could become 21 races if China is cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak. 

 

Car Launches

Over the next two and half weeks, each team will unveil their new car which they hope will take them to the driver and constructor titles this season.

Here’s a rundown of the car unveiling dates and venues for every team which commences in little over a week’s time, climaxing with Alfa Romeo and Haas’ unveilings on the morning of the first day of testing. 

Team	Launch Date	Venue
Mercedes	14 February	Silverstone, UK
Ferrari	11 February	Reggio Emilia, Italy
Red Bull	12 February	Silverstone, UK
McLaren	13 February	Woking, UK
Renault	12 February	Paris, France
Alpha Tauri	14 February	Salzburg, Austria
Racing Point	17 February	Mondsee, Austria
Alfa Romeo	19 February	Barcelona, Spain
Haas	19 February	Barcelona, Spain
Williams	17 February	Digital only

 

Pre-season Testing

Embed from Getty Images

Pre-season testing commences on 19 February with a pair of three day tests taking place across 19-21 February then again across 26-28 February, which represents a cut from the traditional four day tests in recent pre-seasons.

Both tests will be held at it’s usual venue of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain as usual, which is set to again host the Spanish Grand Prix across the weekend of 8-10 May 2020 for what could be the final time with its future unknown.

Each team will field one driver per day so expect to see teams giving both drivers three days each across both tests in whichever order they want.

Some teams might give their test driver two half days whilst their race drivers do two full days plus a half day each, so that both drivers get equal time opportunity in the car ahead of the new season.

 

Can Fans Attend Pre-season Testing?

If you’re wondering if you can attend pre-season testing, well you can with tickets as cheap as £21.84, if you click on the following link.

That only covers the cost of your ticket into the circuit on an individual day of testing, so you will need to conduct some research to find the cheapest flights plus transport to hotel and circuit on top of food & drink.

If you do decide to go then enjoy the experience whilst for those of you staying at home in the UK, Sky Sports F1 will be providing live coverage of all six days of testing from 8am-12pm then 1-5pm.