How an eight-race F1 championship would have played out

The long wait for the start of the new Formula 1 season appears to be coming to an end as plans ramp up for the opening round in Austria next month.

The COVID-19 pandemic will result in an unprecedented F1 season, featuring multiple races at the same circuit for the first time, while some new tracks are aiming to try and join the schedule as late stand-ins for cancelled rounds.

F1 remains determined to get a 15-to-18-race season completed, targeting swings of races through Asia, the Americas and the Middle East once its Europe leg has finished. But the reality of the pandemic - which is far from over - means it is difficult to truly know what the final calendar will look like.

The only real certainty right now comes in the form of the eight-race European schedule that was announced at the start of June. While races beyond that are likely, they are yet to have been formally confirmed by F1.

Were an extreme situation to occur and F1 only manage to limp across the line of staging an eight-race season, what would that mean for the championship? Would it result in a shock champion, or some other surprises?

Based on the results of the grands prix through 2019 - which does mean doubling up for the tracks hosting two races - here is how an eight-race championship would have played out last year.

Rounds 1 and 2: Austria

After a winter (and spring) dominated by questions about his readiness for life with Ferrari, Charles Leclerc made an immediate statement by taking pole position on debut for the Scuderia.

Showing few signs of the pressure getting to him, Leclerc slowly built his lead through the opening stint over Valtteri Bottas in second. Mercedes tried to put pressure on Leclerc by bringing Bottas in at the end of lap 21, forcing Ferrari to respond one lap later and pit its race leader. This opened the door for the recovering Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to move into the lead as both ran longer.

After seeing Hamilton pick up damage, Verstappen pitted nine laps after Leclerc, giving him fresher tyres for the second stint before bearing down on the Ferrari. After nearing on a couple of occasions and being rebuffed, Verstappen got a run on Leclerc approaching the uphill Turn 3 with three laps to go.

The pair brushed wheels, resulting in an angry response from Leclerc as Verstappen pulled clear, crossing the line to score a controversial victory. While the orange-clad fans in the grandstands celebrated as Verstappen took to the top step of the podium to give engine supplier Honda its first race win since 2006, a lengthy wait followed as the stewards considered the race-winning move. They ultimately cleared Verstappen of causing a collision, making him the first winner of the year.

In a flurry of deja vu, Leclerc saw a second straight pole fade in the closing stages of the Styrian Grand Prix one week later, again suffering a defeat at the hands of Verstappen who picked up maximum points for the opening two rounds.

Drivers' Championship after two rounds (top 5)
Verstappen - 52
Leclerc - 36
Bottas - 30
Vettel - 24
Hamilton - 20

Constructors' Championship after two rounds (top 5)
Red Bull - 64
Ferrari - 60
Mercedes - 50
McLaren - 24
Alfa Romeo - 6

Round 3: Hungary

Verstappen showed few signs of slowing down after his back-to-back wins to start the year, scoring the first pole position of his F1 career in Hungary. Verstappen led early on despite pressure from Hamilton, as the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel proved incapable of keeping up with the pace of the front two.

Having initially failed to pass Verstappen after pitting, Mercedes opted to roll the dice and bring Hamilton in for a second stop with 22 laps to go. The move initially seemed to backfire, with Hamilton himself questioning it over the radio, but he soon began to gain over a second per lap on Verstappen.

It set the pair up for a late fight, but one even Verstappen, for all of his precocious talent, had little chance of winning. Hamilton made the move at Turn 1 with three laps to go to snatch victory away and deny Verstappen a three-peat to start the season.

Drivers' Championship after three rounds (top 5)
Verstappen - 71
Leclerc - 48
Hamilton - 45
Vettel - 39
Bottas - 34

Constructors' Championship after three rounds (top 5)
Red Bull - 91
Ferrari - 87
Mercedes - 79
McLaren - 36
Alfa Romeo - 12

Rounds 4 and 5: Great Britain

Bottas headed up a front row lock-out for Mercedes in qualifying, pipping Hamilton by just six-thousandths of a second. The margins between the pair remained fine through the opening stint as Hamilton hounded his team-mate, who responded to the pressure with a Finnish cool Bottas is eager to show after his winless 2018.

But again, Lady Luck refused to smile on Bottas. Hamilton looked to extend his first stint after Bottas pitted, only for the safety car to be called and allow him to save time when stopping. He emerged from the pits leading the race.

On the restart, Hamilton and Bottas coasted away from the rest of the field, with the reigning world champion always looking in control. The gap to the cars behind was such that Bottas had the chance to pit with seven laps to go without losing a position in a bid to try and set the fastest lap. Even that didn't work - Hamilton went 0.037 seconds faster with his very final lap.

Championship leader Verstappen could only finish fifth after being punted off the track by Vettel in a hapless move at Club. With inroads already made on Verstappen's championship lead, Hamilton would finally take over in top spot by winning the second Silverstone race, with Bottas again in tow.

Drivers' Championship after five rounds (top 5)
Hamilton - 97
Verstappen - 91
Leclerc - 78
Bottas - 70
Vettel - 39

Constructors' Championship after five rounds (top 5)
Mercedes - 167
Red Bull - 135
Ferrari - 117
McLaren - 52
Alfa Romeo - 20

Round 6: Spain

Hamilton showed few signs of wavering in the Spanish summer as Mercedes continued to dominate through the August triple-header. Bottas was again able to score pole position, but his advantage lasted not even a lap this time around as Hamilton made a better start from second on the grid, sweeping into the lead.

Hamilton built a steady gap that was wiped away by a late safety car, but stayed calm on the restart to lead Bottas home for a third straight 1-2 finish for Mercedes.

Verstappen took third to ensure Hamilton's lead only grew by 11 points - the bonus fastest lap point also going the way of the Briton - with Vettel and Leclerc struggling to fourth and fifth for Ferrari.

Drivers' Championship after six rounds (top 5)
Hamilton - 123
Verstappen - 106
Bottas - 88
Leclerc - 88
Vettel - 51

Constructors' Championship after six rounds (top 5)
Mercedes - 211
Red Bull - 158
Ferrari - 139
McLaren - 56
Alfa Romeo - 20

Round 7: Belgium

Title protagonists Hamilton and Verstappen struggled in qualifying as Leclerc swept to his third pole of the season with ease. Hamilton would start third, with Verstappen fifth.

Any hopes the Verstappen fans had of a charge to victory were dashed in a matter of seconds. A poor start led to contact at La Source with Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen, breaking the front-left suspension on Verstappen's car. The damage caused him to go straight on at Eau Rouge and crash out of the race.

It meant all Hamilton needed was a fifth-place finish to clinch the title. He ran third in the opening stint before passing Vettel, and quickly set his sights on Leclerc ahead. The Mercedes driver piled on pressure, routinely gaining one second per lap through the middle sector alone and drawing to within a second of the lead on the final lap.

But Leclerc was able to hold steady in the lead and clinched his maiden F1 win, leading Hamilton home by nine-tenths of a second. Second was nevertheless enough to confirm Hamilton as F1 world champion for a sixth time.

Mercedes also wrapped up the constructors' championship with one round to spare with a double-podium, while Ferrari leapfrogged Red Bull into second in the standings.

Drivers' Championship after seven rounds (top 5)
Hamilton - 141
Leclerc - 113
Verstappen - 106
Bottas - 103
Vettel - 64

Constructors' Championship after seven rounds (top 5)
Mercedes - 244
Ferrari - 177
Red Bull - 168
McLaren - 56
Alfa Romeo - 20

Round 8: Italy

Following their tussle at Spa, Leclerc and Hamilton showed few signs of ending their seasons quietly as they locked out the front row of the grid at Monza.

The Ferrari driver delivered the massed Tifosi pole for the second year in a row, pipping Hamilton by just 0.039s after a somewhat farcical end to qualifying during which none of the drivers set a final Q3 lap.

Leclerc maintained his lead at the start, but was soon left as the sole front-running Ferrari when a mistake by Vettel caused the German to spin off at Ascari. As Vettel returned to the track, he ran unsighted into the path of Lance Stroll, narrowly avoiding a huge crash. The incident resulted in a 10-second stop/go penalty for Vettel, ultimately resigning him to a 13th-place finish.

Leclerc and Hamilton pitted within one lap of each other at the front, but opted for different strategies. With quicker medium tyres, Hamilton was able to catch the hard-shod Leclerc, only for the Ferrari driver to defend his lead boldly. A late move under braking at the Roggia chicane forced an angry Hamilton down the escape route, with the stewards warning Leclerc for the move.

Hamilton's tyres had faded in the charge, with a final lock-up allowing Bottas to take second. The Finn's charge to try and end the season with a win fell short, as Leclerc claimed his second win in the space of seven days - again by less than a second. It meant Leclerc finished the year a comfortable second in the standings as an early incident after an engine penalty meant Verstappen could only finish eighth.

Drivers' Championship - Final
Hamilton - 157
Leclerc - 138
Bottas - 121
Verstappen - 110
Vettel - 64
Gasly - 52
Sainz - 38
Ricciardo - 24
Albon - 19
Norris - 19
Raikkonen - 18
Hulkenberg - 16
Perez - 14
Magnussen - 6
Kvyat - 6
Giovinazzi - 4
Stroll - 1
Grosjean - 1
Russell - 0
Kubica - 0

Constructors' Championship after eight rounds
Mercedes - 278
Ferrari - 202
Red Bull - 180
McLaren - 57
Renault - 40
Alfa Romeo - 22
Racing Point - 15
Toro Rosso - 13
Haas - 7
Williams - 0

So how would a condensed season have changed things through 2019? As the results show, not a great amount.

Leclerc is the biggest winner in the drivers' championship, rising from fourth to second, aided in part by the low scores for Verstappen in the final two races.

Pierre Gasly wins the 'best of the rest' title - although he did spend six of the eight races with Red Bull - and doesn't finish far off Vettel, who finished well off the frontrunners.

In the constructors' championship, there is little change to the order. Alfa Romeo and Toro Rosso swapped places, while Renault still flattered to deceive as McLaren topped the midfield fight.

It means that even with a condensed season, many of the storylines that made 2019 so notable would still have been able to play out.

Fears may remain over the legitimacy of a title won in the rather disjointed 2020 season, but there should still be plenty of time for a full season's worth of battles and drama to unfold - even if we're starting three months later than usual.