Every aspect of our lives has been affected by coronavirus, and the 2020 F1 season is no exception. Almost the whole first half of the season has been delayed or outright cancelled so far.
Thankfully for players of the official F1 game though, all 22 of the original races will be included in F1 2020 when it hits shelves later this year.
The current state of F1
ALL THE RACES: The full calendar will be included in F1 2020
The 2020 Formula 1 season was meant to begin in Australia in March. Thanks to the spread of COVID-19 though, the Australian GP was cancelled. Melbourne's removal from the schedule was soon followed by a series of postponements and the cancelation of the Monaco GP.
Despite this though, Codemaster's F1 director Paul Jeal has confirmed that all 22 circuits that were in the original calendar will be included in F1 2020. So even though Albert Park and Monte Carlo won't have Grands Prix this year, the virtual 2020 F1 cars will be able to race around them.
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New circuits Zandvoort and the Hanoi Street Circuit will also be packaged with F1 2020 from release.
Coronavirus seems to have had an impact on the game though. We are yet to hear any news on features or release date. However, the UK went into lockdown recently, which seems to have delayed that announcement.
F1 2020 can keep fans engaged
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In times like these, indoor activities like video gaming are more popular than ever before. It's therefore vital that gaming companies provide quality and consistent content for the players.
We suggested that the Official F1 Game should consider a release date before the start of the season in the future. That seemed like a pipe dream at the time but it's now a very real possibility.
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However, there is also the possibility of F1 2020 being delayed due to coronavirus too. If that were to happen, it would be a massive missed opportunity for Codies.
F1 2020 release date
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Aside from the Virtual GP's, the Formula 1 video game will be the only source of entertainment for F1 fans until the season starts up. Realistically though, that won't be until at least August at this rate.
We don't know how the calendar will be re-arranged, as all six postponed races could still occur if there's space later in the season. If the pandemic doesn't end by the summer though, there's a real possibility this season's F1 campaign could be cancelled.
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Despite all of this though, Jeal is confident of making the first official announcement of F1 2020:
"Hopefully it's not too much longer before we before we make the announcement."