London - Formula One announced on Tuesday that it would start its delayed season in Austria on July 5 with eight races in Europe over the space of 10 weeks.
It will be the first time Austria's Red Bull Ring has hosted a season-opener. Races will also be held without spectators and with more than one grand prix at the same circuit.
The following is some reaction to the news:
"We take on this challenge unique in the history of F1, and we are looking forward to both weekends. Spielberg will see exciting races - and therefore send a strong sign of feasibility to the whole world, said Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz said.
"It’s a fantastic venue and we are pleased to be starting our championship campaign at our home circuit. It has been a huge effort by all involved and the two events at the Red Bull Ring will be a blueprint for all other races to follow." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added.
"While clearly it won’t be the same without the fans in the grandstands - and we’ll sorely miss their enthusiasm and support - it’s entirely sensible to start the season behind closed doors," Racing Point principal Otmar Szafnauer said.
"We're going to go racing. That's awesome. Very happy to hear that we finally get some dates and we can go racing... I can't wait to go racing, to see the team again, feel the car... it's going to be a bit different than it was before for a little while but we go racing." Haas driver Romain Grosjean said.
After the two Austrian races, the 10 teams will travel east to race on a third successive weekend at Budapest's Hungaroring on July 19 before returning home, all under carefully controlled conditions.
Silverstone, which hosted the first F1 world championship race in 1950, is scheduled for the British Grand Prix on August 2 followed by the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix on August 9.
Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya will then host the Spanish Grand Prix on August 16 to complete the triple-header before another break and then two more back-to-back races at Spa in Belgium and Italy's Monza on Aug 30 and September 6.