Formula One finalise 2020 season by adding four more rounds to take calendar to 17 races

The Formula One season will finish just 12 days before Christmas after the sport’s bosses rubber-stamped a final 17-race calendar.

Four rounds were added to the schedule on Tuesday, with F1 set to return to Turkey for the first time in nine years.

Bahrain will then host two races before the season-concluding Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi on December 13 – a date which could see Lewis Hamilton crowned world champion for a record-equalling seventh time. 

The 2020 Formula One season will conclude on December 13 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

It marks the latest finish to an F1 season since 1963 and the fewest races staged in a year since Jenson Button drove to his sole world championship in 2009.

The Chinese Grand Prix has officially been cancelled, while the inaugural Vietnamese race in its capital of Hanoi, which had been set to take place in April, will now have to wait until 2021. 

An F1 statement also said that ‘a number of races’ this season would be open to a limited number of fans.

However, no details regarding the possibility of a return of fans have been announced at this stage.

F1 chief executive 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.’

Lewis Hamilton is chasing a record-equalling seventh World Championship this season