Turkey back on F1 calendar as four more races are confirmed

London, August 25: Formula One will return to Turkey after announcing four more races for the 2020 season.

The Turkish Grand Prix will be held at Istanbul Park for the first time since 2011 on November 15, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

Bahrain will host a double-header on November 29 and December 6, before the campaign concludes with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 13.

It brings the total number of races this year to 17, the fewest since 2009.

F1 confirmed no event will be held in China in 2020, while the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix is soon expected to be officially cut from the schedule.

All rounds this season have been held behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, but organisers are planning for fans to return before the year is out.

An F1 statement read: "We can confirm that Turkey, Bahrain (hosting two races), and Abu Dhabi will be part of the revised season and want to express our thanks to the hard work of all our promoters and partners in making this 17-race season possible.

"Sadly, we will not be racing in China this season and want to thank our partner Juss Sports for their support and engagement in recent months and hugely look forward to returning to Shanghai next year.

"We can confirm that a number of races in the revised 2020 season will be open to a limited number of fans, including hospitality, and we are working with each promoter to finalise the details.

"While we want to see as many fans as possible return as soon as it is safe to do so, our priority remains the safety of the Formula One community and the communities we visit, and we review fan access on this basis.

"Due to the ongoing fluidity of the COVID-19 pandemic we continue to maintain close dialogue with all promoters and local authorities to ensure we operate in the safest way possible and monitor each national situation closely – including travel restrictions and local health procedures."

F1 chairman and CEO Chase Carey said: "We are proud to announce that Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will be part of our 2020 season.

"This year has presented Formula One and the world with an unprecedented challenge and we want to pay tribute to everyone across Formula One, 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 all our fans."