Lewis Hamilton drives during F1's winter testing on February 26 in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: VCG

 

Formula One's truncated coronavirus-­hit season will finally get underway with the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5, the Austrian government announced Saturday.

The Spielberg circuit has also been given the green light to stage a second race the following weekend.

"The two Formula One races on July 5 and 12 at Spielberg will be staged without spectators," announced Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober.

He said that the two races had been approved after F1 organizers "had presented a complete and professional plan" to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The F1 season was thrown into chaos with the cancelation of the traditional curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix in March only hours before practice was due to begin.

Melbourne was one of 10 races ­either canceled or postponed, yet F1 boss Chase Carey believes a 15-18 race season is still possible.

But Silverstone's hopes of also staging back-to-back races after Austria are in the balance after the British government insisted that all arrivals in the country undergo a two-week quarantine period.

Anschober added a caveat to Saturday's statement, insisting the season's belated restart would only go ahead if all the health assurances made by F1 were fulfilled.

"In addition to strict hygiene measures the plan also involves regular testing and health checkups for teams and all the other employees," he said.

"The crucial element will be the close coordination between the organizers and the regional and local health authorities."

Its remote location made the Red Bull Ring circuit a "logical" location to stage the season's first two races, F1 managing director Ross Brawn said this month.

With a local airport, the races can be held in an isolated environment, essential in the fight against the pandemic.

F1's tentative emergence from coronavirus lockdown follows the path trodden cautiously by other sports.

Germany's Bundesliga became the first of Europe's top football leagues to return this month with Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A and England's Premier League kick-starting their interrupted seasons over the next few weeks.

While there may have been no racing up to now there has been plenty going on behind the scenes, with Carlos Sainz replacing Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari for 2021 and Daniel Ricciardo joining McLaren.

Given the massive financial hit teams have taken and the worry that some might go bust, the proposed all-new technical landscape due to be implemented next season has been pushed back to 2022.

And a spending cap of $145 million has been introduced for next year in an attempt to stem the bleeding, with teams like McLaren making significant job cuts.

One man itching for the season to begin is Lewis Hamilton, who is hoping to equal Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles.