The race in Baku was originally scheduled for 7 June as the eighth round of the championship but all the earlier races, including the showcase Monaco Grand Prix, have been cancelled or called off.
Race organisers confirmed on Monday that the Baku round has joined the growing list of races being postponed or cancelled, with a statement adding that they hope to reschedule the Grand Prix "later in 2020".
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An F1 statement read: “Baku City Circuit (BCC) has today taken the decision to postpone the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2020 due to take place on 5-7 June.
“The postponement was agreed upon after extensive discussions with Formula One as well as the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the Government of the Azerbaijan Republic. This comes as a direct result of the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic and has been based entirely on the expert guidance provided to us by the relevant authorities.
“BCC shares its fans’ disappointment at not being able to experience the pinnacle of motorsport race through the streets of Baku this June. To that end, we will continue to work closely with Formula One, the FIA and the Government of the Azerbaijan Republic to monitor the situation with a view to announcing a new race date later in the 2020 season.”
Preparation of the street circuit, which requires extensive safety fencing and barriers as well as the sealing of drain covers and asphalting, would have had to have started in the coming weeks.
The next race scheduled after Azerbaijan is the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on 14 June, with France following on 28 June but both races must also be considered uncertain as the virus spreads globally.
France currently has stringent restrictions on people's movements while Canada has closed its borders to all but essential travel.
F1 driver line-up 2020
Show all 21
F1 driver line-up 2020
1/21 F1 2020
The Formula One grid shows just two changes from the Class of 19, meaning there will be a fair few familiar faces returning next season. Here's how the grid lines up.
REUTERS
2/21 Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton (No 44)
Heads into his 14th season in F1 as a newly-crowned six-time world champion and is showing no signs of allowing his stranglehold on the sport to ease. Will once again be the man to beat, but his future could well prove the biggest talking point in 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
3/21 Mercedes – Valtteri Bottas (77)
Bottas comfortably made second place his own in 2019 but he still needs to find an extra gear or two if he is going to really challenge his teammate. Whether or not his divorce affected him mentally throughout the season only he will know, but a more focused and driven Valtteri Bottas could arrive on the grid next season if his distractions are out of his mind.
Getty Images
4/21 Ferrari – Charles Leclerc (16)
Based on results in 2019 the Ferrari No 2 should step up and become the Ferrari No 1, but will that actually happen? Regardless, Leclerc impressed immensely in qualifying last season, taking five pole positions including four in a row, and he finally found himself on the top step of the podium in a sign of things to come.
Getty
5/21 Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel (5)
Perhaps the most under-pressure driver in the sport in 2020, Vettel knows another year of failing to meet the grade will almost certainly end his time with Ferrari, particularly with so many good drivers on the market in 2021. Vettel showed signs of the fire within him still burning with his win in Singapore, but much more will be expected from the four-time world champion.
Getty Images
6/21 Red Bull – Max Verstappen (33)
A year wiser and with a car that improved rapidly as the season wore on, Verstappen could prove the biggest challenge to Hamilton and Mercedes in 2020 if Red Bull can find that top level consistency they crave. Verstappen is also out of contract next year and will be as sought-after as Hamilton, and a season-long duel between the two would spice up that uncertainty no end.
Getty Images
7/21 Red Bull – Alexander Albon (23)
Has convinced Red Bull enough in his half a season with the team to bag himself the second seat with the team for next year, or at least for the start of it. Looked a calm head on talented shoulders in 2019 and should have had a deserved podium in Brazil had it not been for Hamilton’s rash overtake attempt, but now he will have to start closing the gap to Verstappen if he is to secure a long-term future.
Getty Images
8/21 McLaren – Carlos Sainz (55)
The ‘best of the rest’ last season will hope to build on the late podium that he secured in Brazil that ended McLaren’s long five-year drought, with aspirations that the British team will be looking up at the top three rather than down over their shoulder.
Getty Images
9/21
Getty Images
10/21
Getty Images
11/21
AFP via Getty Images
12/21
Getty Images
13/21
Getty Images
14/21
EPA
15/21
Getty Images
16/21
REUTERS
17/21
REUTERS
18/21
REUTERS
19/21
Getty Images
20/21
Getty Images
21/21
REUTERS
1/21 F1 2020
The Formula One grid shows just two changes from the Class of 19, meaning there will be a fair few familiar faces returning next season. Here's how the grid lines up.
REUTERS
2/21 Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton (No 44)
Heads into his 14th season in F1 as a newly-crowned six-time world champion and is showing no signs of allowing his stranglehold on the sport to ease. Will once again be the man to beat, but his future could well prove the biggest talking point in 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
3/21 Mercedes – Valtteri Bottas (77)
Bottas comfortably made second place his own in 2019 but he still needs to find an extra gear or two if he is going to really challenge his teammate. Whether or not his divorce affected him mentally throughout the season only he will know, but a more focused and driven Valtteri Bottas could arrive on the grid next season if his distractions are out of his mind.
Getty Images
4/21 Ferrari – Charles Leclerc (16)
Based on results in 2019 the Ferrari No 2 should step up and become the Ferrari No 1, but will that actually happen? Regardless, Leclerc impressed immensely in qualifying last season, taking five pole positions including four in a row, and he finally found himself on the top step of the podium in a sign of things to come.
Getty
5/21 Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel (5)
Perhaps the most under-pressure driver in the sport in 2020, Vettel knows another year of failing to meet the grade will almost certainly end his time with Ferrari, particularly with so many good drivers on the market in 2021. Vettel showed signs of the fire within him still burning with his win in Singapore, but much more will be expected from the four-time world champion.
Getty Images
6/21 Red Bull – Max Verstappen (33)
A year wiser and with a car that improved rapidly as the season wore on, Verstappen could prove the biggest challenge to Hamilton and Mercedes in 2020 if Red Bull can find that top level consistency they crave. Verstappen is also out of contract next year and will be as sought-after as Hamilton, and a season-long duel between the two would spice up that uncertainty no end.
Getty Images
7/21 Red Bull – Alexander Albon (23)
Has convinced Red Bull enough in his half a season with the team to bag himself the second seat with the team for next year, or at least for the start of it. Looked a calm head on talented shoulders in 2019 and should have had a deserved podium in Brazil had it not been for Hamilton’s rash overtake attempt, but now he will have to start closing the gap to Verstappen if he is to secure a long-term future.
Getty Images
8/21 McLaren – Carlos Sainz (55)
The ‘best of the rest’ last season will hope to build on the late podium that he secured in Brazil that ended McLaren’s long five-year drought, with aspirations that the British team will be looking up at the top three rather than down over their shoulder.
Getty Images
9/21
Getty Images
10/21
Getty Images
11/21
AFP via Getty Images
12/21
Getty Images
13/21
Getty Images
14/21
EPA
15/21
Getty Images
16/21
REUTERS
17/21
REUTERS
18/21
REUTERS
19/21
Getty Images
20/21
Getty Images
21/21
REUTERS
Formula One has cancelled its usual August shutdown, bringing it forward and extending it to three weeks in March and April in the hope of rescheduling races from earlier in the season.
Postponement of the race leaves Baku without a major sporting event organised this year. The city had been due to host four games including a quarter-final of the Euro 2020 championship but that has now been postponed to next year.
The street circuit has long, fast straights and a twisting stretch around the old town, with some 18,000 grandstand seats plus another 2,000 hospitality and VIP. A further 10-15,000 general admission tickets are sold.
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