It's official: Silverstone will be hosting back-to-back Formula 1 races for revised season

Silverstone Circuit will host back-to-back grands prix as part of a revised Formula 1 season for 2020 - but with no fans, it has been confirmed.

The Northamptonshire track will welcome F1 teams for two weekends of racing from July 31 to August 9 as part of the first eight rounds of the season.

The Formula 2 and 3 seasons will follow the same schedule as F1, as usual, but all races will be behind closed doors to minimise the spread of coronavirus.

F1 chairman Chase Carey said: “In the past weeks we have been working tirelessly with all our partners, the FIA and the teams to create a revised opening 2020 calendar allowing us to restart racing in the safest possible way.

"We are pleased to be able to set out our opening eight race calendar today and look forward to publishing our full calendar in the coming weeks.

"I want to thank every promoter and partner for their support and ongoing commitment to Formula 1.

"While we currently expect the season to commence without fans at our races we hope that over the coming months the situation will allow us to welcome them back once it is safe to do, but we know the return of Formula 1 will be a welcome boost to sports fans around the world.”

The F1 season will start with a double-header at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on July 3, before the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring on July 19.

The first race at Silverstone on August 2 will be billed as the British Grand Prix, while the second on August 9, is titled as the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, marking the sport's birthday this year.

Proposals have been made for either of those races to feature a new format, where teams compete in a shorter race on the Saturday to decide the grid for the Sunday, instead of the normal qualifying.

But approval is needed from all 10 teams and Northamptonshire-based Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has voiced his concerns about changing the format.

The Spanish, Belgian and Italian grands prix will follow the races in Britain with the promise of more to be added as the Covid-19 crisis progresses and other countries can host events.