When does the 2020 F1 season start? TV channels, race calendar and drivers

Netflix has dropped the second season of its documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

The 10-part series spends time with all 10 F1 teams during the 2019 season, giving unprecedented access to the drivers on last year’s grid.

The new series – which includes installments with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and the iconic Ferrari – lands on Friday (February 28), the same day as the end of 2020 pre-season testing.

It’s a perfect way to whet the appetite of fans who have been starved of F1 action since the final race of 2019.

When does the F1 season start?

F1 2020 gets underway in Australia on the weekend of March 13-15.

As ever, the Australian Grand Prix is first on the calendar, meaning it’s another early start for fans of the sport who like to follow the on-track action live.

The first 90-minute practice session starts at 1am GMT on Friday March 13 while qualifying will take place the following day at 6am UK time.

Sunday’s race (March 15) gets underway at 5.10 GMT.

What channel is F1 on?

Sky Sports is once again showing every race live during 2020.

For those who can’t watch Sky, then Channel 4 is the place to be, with the broadcaster again showing highlights of every qualifying session and race.

The good news for fans who watch F1 on Channel 4 is that highlights of the 2020 season will be longer than last year. This is thanks to a deal which allows them to show up to 70% of the race compared to 50% in 2019, meaning there will be an hour of racing compared to 45 minutes previously.

BBC Radio 5 Live will also be providing live commentary of every race.

F1 race calendar

F1 2020 was due to be the busiest ever with 22 races lined up. However due to the coronavirus outbreak, April’s Chinese Grand Prix has been postponed meaning there are currently 21 races on the calendar.

March 13-15: Australian Grand Prix

March 20-22: Bahrain Grand Prix

April 3-5: Vietnam Grand Prix (new for 2020)

May 1-3: Dutch Grand Prix (new for 2020)

May 8-10: Spanish Grand Prix

May 21-24: Monaco Grand Prix

June 5-7: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

June 12-14: Canadian Grand Prix

June 26-28: French Grand Prix

July 3-5: Austrian Grand Prix

July 17-19: British Grand Prix

July 31-August 2: Hungarian Grand Prix

August 28-30: Belgian Grand Prix

September 4-6: Italian Grand Prix

September 18-20: Singapore Grand Prix

September 25-27: Russian Grand Prix

October 9-11: Japanese Grand Prix

October 23-25: United States Grand Prix

October 30-November 1: Mexican Grand Prix

November 13-15: Brazilian Grand Prix

November 27-29: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

F1 driver line-ups

There are very few changes to this year’s driver line-up with only one rookie – Nicholas Latifi at Williams – joining the grid.

However Esteban Ocon returns to F1 racing with Renault following a year as Mercedes’ reserve driver, while Toro Rosso has rebranded as AlphaTauri.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc

Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Alex Albon

McLaren: Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris

Renault: Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon

AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat

Racing Point: Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll

Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi

Haas: Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean

Williams: George Russell, Nicholas Latifi

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