Formula One season is set to kick off at the end of this month with Bahrain Grand Prix. Following the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix, which was scheduled for March 21, the focus of the new season is firmly on Bahrain with testing due to run from March 12 to 14 with the opening Grand Prix of the 2021 season taking place there on March 28. However, before the start of the first race of the season, there are plenty of launches to look forward to.
Here is how the F1 calendar is March looks like:
March 2: Mercedes and Alpine Launches
March 3: Aston Martin Launch
March 4: Haas Livery Reveal
March 5: Williams Launch
March 10: Ferrari Launch
March 12-14: F1 Testing, Bahrain
March 19: Drive to Survive Season 3
March 26-28: Bahrain Grand Prix
Mercedes, who have been ruling the roost in both the Drivers and Constructors Championship, will be the first to launch their car for the upcoming season. While there are three more launches in between, the next big thing will be Ferrari’s launch on March 10.
Also on March 19, the third season of the popular web series on Netflix ‘Drive to Survive’ will be released. The first season of the show was a 10-part series focussing on the 2018 World Championship.
The series was so popular that Netflix launched season 2 with focus on the 2019 World Championship. And now the 2020 World Championship will be in the limelight when the third season comes out.
Ahead of the Bahrain GP, the country offered to vaccinate all teams and personnel against Covid-19 when they arrive for pre-season testing this month. However, according to an AFP source within F1, the offer will be rejected.
“The vast majority of participants will be present in Bahrain for a three-week period ahead of the race,” Bahraini organisers of the Grand Prix said in a statement on Sunday evening. “This, in turn, allows a unique opportunity to provide additional protection for those who wish to take up the opportunity in the form of vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine).”
(With AFP inputs)