The opening rounds of the championship were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the aborted opening round in Australia, prompting the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile 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 the 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, means that for the first time in twenty-seven years the United Kingdom will host 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 will be 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
It has been widely reported that Sergio Pérez will miss the Grand Prix as he tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus three days before the British Grand Prix, which would be in line with the current British government requirement for those who have tested positive to self-isolate for ten days. However, Pérez's Racing Point team are still waiting for clarification from the relevant authorities, including the Government of the United Kingdom, regarding the self isolation rules. UK COVID-19 quarantine rules prior to July 30 stated that persons must self isolate for 7 rather than 10 days, meaning Perez could race in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix if he returned a negative the Thursday before that race. However, BBC Sport online reported following qualifying for the British Grand Prix that they been informed by an FIA sources that F1 and the FIA are to impose a 10 day quarantine on Pérez, although no formal announcement has yet been made by Formula One or the FIA to confirm this. All the other entries are expected to be the same as the season entry list at this stage subject to them being given the all clear after a virus test, with Racing Point's second entry alongside Lance Stroll still to be confirmed officially.
Tyre choices
Pirelli will bring the C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres for teams to use in the race, the same selections as used at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring and the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix held at Red Bull Ring. By contrast the 2020 British Grand Prix due to be held on the same circuit layout the week before will see the C1, C2 and C3 selection used. This has been done to try and add strategic interest to the second race and prevent repetitiveness. This comes after plans to have a reverse starting grid at the second event were opposed by Mercedes.
