So far, 2020 Formula 1 races haven’t faced serious obstacles. That may be about to change in what (up to this point) has been a ‘no fans in the stands’ season.
Organizers of two new races, in Portugal and Turkey, along with the regularly scheduled race in Russia, will have fans in the stands–and not just a few, either.
Russia has announced that it will cut in half the anticipated crowd of 200k for its September 27 race, but that still means a target crowd of 100k. The identical protocol is in place for the Portuguese GP, which will be run at the Algarve Circuit on October 25, and for the Turkish GP, which will take place on November 15.
In Turkey, Vural Ak. who heads the organization at the Istanbul circuit, is planning for a good-sized crowd, and is prepared to make adjustments, if needed. “We have to be prepared for anything,” Ak said. “If the disease becomes worse than today, then the race can be done without spectators. However, we know the capacity of this track. Around 220,000 spectators can watch the race in the grandstands and the open areas. Now for safety reasons, if we close some sections, about 100,000 spectators will be able to watch the race by following social distancing rules.”
But Ak won’t have the final word. F1 management will have its say. Not only is crowd size a matter to be considered (60-80k might be a more reasonable target audience), but so is the admissions price.
Tickets for the Turkish GP will go on sale next week for the unusually low all-weekend price of $4 USD (Friday practice through Sunday’s race).
One reason for the low price is the need to attract fans after not having had a Grand Prix race run there in nearly a decade. Issues have already been raised about the track’s condition, but Ak says things are fine in that regard. “An official came and looked at the asphalt and the infrastructure and thanked us, saying that almost everything was like the first day. A team will come soon and see what updates need to be made. We can do this because we’ve kept the track-ready as if there would be a race every day.”
Turkey has more in mind that being a fill-in for countries that dropped races this year. If things go well, Turkey might end up with a regular spot on the Grand Prix schedule.
The big question is ‘if.’
