Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The opening rounds of the championship were heavily affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the planned
opening round in
Australia was called off two days before the race was due to take place, prompting the
FIA to draft a new
calendar. When the calendar was redrafted following the pandemic the
Hungarian and
British Grands Prix had swapped dates with the Hungarian Grand Prix moving to 19 July and the British Grand Prix taking the 2 August date. The early cancellation and indefinite postponements prompted a series of double races. The 70th Anniversary Grand Prix was added to the calendar as a one-off event to ensure confirmation of new events. There had been doubts over whether Silverstone would be able to host Formula One due to quarantine measures proposed by the British government; hopes were raised again by an apparent intervention by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson encouraging his ministers to give Formula One an exemption for racing to go ahead. The British Government did give approval for Formula One at Silverstone. The addition to the calendar of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix on 9 August, also at Silverstone, meant that for the first time in twenty-seven years the United Kingdom hosted two Formula One races in the same season. The last season to have two British races in a season prior to this was the
1993 season when
Donington Park hosted the
European Grand Prix and Silverstone hosted the
British Grand Prix. It was later revealed that Silverstone had offered to hold as many as 12 races in total during the season. Similarly to the opening three rounds, both the
British Grand Prix and the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix were held 'behind closed doors' without spectators.
Northamptonshire Police reiterated the importance of fans staying away from Silverstone for public health reasons during the two Grand Prix weekends and that strict measures would be in place to stop unauthorised persons from entering the circuit.
Entrants The drivers and teams were the same as the pre-season entry list with the only exception being
Sergio Pérez, who was replaced by
Nico Hülkenberg, as had also been the case at the seven days earlier.
Robert Kubica took part in the first practice session for
Alfa Romeo Racing, replacing
Antonio Giovinazzi. It had been widely reported that Pérez would miss the Grand Prix as he tested positive for the
coronavirus (which can cause
COVID-19) three days before the
British Grand Prix, which was in line with the British government COVID-19 requirements at the time of the race for those who have tested positive to
self-isolate for ten days. United Kingdom COVID-19 quarantine rules prior to 30 July (the day of Pérez's positive test) stated that persons must self isolate for seven rather than ten days, meaning Pérez could race in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix if he returned a negative test the Thursday before that race. However, it was reported following qualifying for the
British Grand Prix that since Formula One was relying on the goodwill of the relevant authorities to host races, the
FIA would demand that Pérez undergo a ten-day isolation period, although no formal announcement was made by Formula One or the FIA on the matter. On 6 August, Racing Point confirmed that this was not the case and that Pérez would be able to race provided he returned a negative coronavirus test. However, Pérez did test positive, and thus
Nico Hülkenberg was confirmed to enter instead of him.
Tyre choices Pirelli brought the medium hardness range of C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, by contrast the
2020 British Grand Prix held on the same circuit layout the week before saw the hardest available C1, C2 and C3 selection used – the change was made to add strategic interest to the second race and to make sure the teams use the three practice sessions. This came after plans to have a reverse starting grid at the second event were opposed by
Mercedes. The previous race at Silverstone had seen three cars – those of
Lewis Hamilton,
Valtteri Bottas and
Carlos Sainz Jr. – experiencing punctures in the closing stages. Following the race, proposals were made to retain the same tyre compounds for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, since the softer compounds planned to be used would be more susceptible to wear and degradation. Pirelli decided to stick to its original selection of the C2, C3, and C4 tyres, albeit with increased minimum tyre pressures stipulated, arguing that the tyre failures had occurred as a result of the drivers in question having made a sole tyre change very early in the race thereby subjecting the tyres to a too long stint. The drivers who had made more than one pitstop or simply made their sole stop later, did indeed not suffer tyre failures. Moreover, more pitstops were expected for the second Silverstone race anyway due to the softer compounds. Furthermore, the planned running of 2021 prototype tyres in the second practice session was scrapped in order to allow teams more time to optimise the running of their race packages (meaning car and tyres) with the new tyre pressure limits. == Practice ==