How F1 has been robbed of its silly season
With three-quarters of the grid set to be out of contract at season's end, ordinarily it wouldn't be long before the rumour mill began in earnest. But this is no ordinary season, and all the signs point towards silly season being somewhat anticlimactic
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt worldwide, it remains impossible to say with certainty when the new Formula 1 season will finally begin. Drivers are doing all they can to keep sharp and stay fit for whenever the season is able to start, putting in the hours in their home gyms and taking part in sim racing events to get their racing fix.
But with so much time to kill while in self-isolation, all 20 drivers will surely be giving thought to what their future in F1 may look like. For the majority of the grid, it is a question that needed answering this year anyway.
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Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.
Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.
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