On top of the 13 European races that have already been staged or confirmed as taking place, the teams will be competing in Turkey, twice in Bahrain and once in Abu Dhabi.
However, as expected, the Chinese Grand Prix has been dropped from the schedule after the country’s government precluded international sports events for the remainder of 2020.
The DHL Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park on 15 November represents Formula 1’s first visit to the country since 2011 when the last of seven races was held at the circuit.
At the time, a new hosting agreement could not be reached, and the Turkish government refused to provide financial support for the return of the event in 2013.
Bahrain and Abu Dhabi have been more consistent destinations for Formula 1, and, as anticipated, will round off the 2020 season.
The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, initially scheduled for 22 March, will now take place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 29 November, and be followed by the Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix, at the same venue, on 6 December.
The campaign will conclude with the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on 13 December.
As a result of the pandemic, the start of the Formula 1 season was delayed until the start of July, with various races, including many of those outside Europe, postponed or cancelled.
However, the organisers remained hopeful of being able to stage between 15 and 18 rounds, and with the Red Bull Ring in Austria and Silverstone in Great Britain holding two grands prix each, six have been completed to date.
So far, all events have been held behind closed doors, but Formula 1 announced today that, subject to travel restrictions and local health procedures, some of the remaining races welcome a "limited number of fans," with hospitality also available, and it is working with promoters to finalise the arrangements.
In a statement, Chase Carey, the chairman and chief executive of Formula 1, said: “We are proud to announce that Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will be part of our 2020 season. This year has presented Formula 1 and the world with an unprecedented challenge and we want to pay tribute to everyone across Formula 1, the FIA, the teams and our partners who have made this possible.
“While we are all disappointed that we have not been able to return to some of our planned races this year we are confident our season has started well and will continue to deliver plenty of excitement with traditional, as well as new, races that will entertain our fans.”
While confirming the cancellation of the already postponed Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, Formula 1 has thanked local promoter Juss Sports for its support and engagement, and said it is looking forward to returning in 2021.
The 2020 season continues next weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The additional grands prix will come as a boost to Liberty Media, the US media giant that owns Formula 1, after the company had to endure a 96 per cent rall in revenue, to just $24 million, and an operating loss of $122 million, in the second quarter, as no races were held between April and June.
Meanwhile, Formula 1 has signed a deal with Talkative, the UK technology company, to develop a customer interaction system for the sport’s digital platforms.
Under the “long-term partnership” announced today, Talkative will integrate its technology with Formula1.com, the official website, and F1 TV, the OTT streaming platform that offers enhanced coverage of grands prix.
It is claimed that the tie-up will enable Formula 1 to handle all customer interaction types in an omnichannel environment, delivering chats, calls and emails natively into the sport’s customer relationship management.
The service will enable agents to see all fan activity at an account level, with localised fan support possible through real-time translation of over 100 languages, servicing over 500 million fans.
Formula 1 said that Talkative was selected after “a thorough vendor review process, with security, resilience and 24/7 support all offering key aspects of the solution.”
The South Wales-based company, which has received development support through the Development Bank of Wales and Welsh government-backed Alacrity Foundation, will benefit from branding via a ‘Powered by Talkative’ motto across Formula1.com and a logo displayed in the chat widget.
Explaining the partnership, Matt Kemp, head of CRM and customer operations at Formula 1, said: “Talkative understood the opportunity we presented to them, which was to provide a true omnichannel experience working natively within our CRM environment for our F1TV fans.
“Talkative enables choice and flexibility across communication channels where fans decide how they want to connect, even switching between channels mid conversation. We are excited to work with Talkative and hope this will be the first of many innovations as we further develop our world class fan experience.”
