Next year’s British Grand Prix is set to avoid a direct clash with the Wimbledon men’s singles final and football’s Euro 2020 showpiece at Wembley. It is understood the Silverstone round is due to take place on 18 July, a week after the conclusion of the tennis and the delayed Euros.
However, the race – drafted by Formula One bosses as part of a provisional 23-grand prix calendar for 2021 – will go head to head with the concluding 18 holes of golf’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s. This year’s major in Kent was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Silverstone chiefs are keen for the 2021 British Grand Prix to be staged in front of a sell-out 140,000 fans in a campaign in which Lewis Hamilton could move ahead of Michael Schumacher with eight world championships. Both this year’s British and 70th Anniversary grands prix at the Northamptonshire venue took place behind closed doors.
Ticket sales are believed to be progressing well, but how many spectators will be allowed through the gates is constantly under review. Next year’s record-breaking 23-round F1 calendar is due to be signed off in the coming weeks. It is understood that the campaign will get under way at Melbourne’s Albert Park on 21 March, with the season to conclude in Abu Dhabi on 5 December. The sport will visit Saudi Arabia for the first time, with a street race in Jeddah pencilled in as the penultimate round of the campaign.
A race in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro also appears on the provisional schedule but there are several question marks over whether the grand prix will actually take place because of both building and environmental concerns at the planned venue in the Camboata Forest.