Formula 1 May Run Two Races in Austria

Welcome to The Grid, R&T’s quick roundup of the auto industry and motorsports news you should know this morning.

Formula 1 May Run Two Races in Austria

Earlier this week, Formula 1 announced plans to run a truncated 2020 season, starting with the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5. F1 sporting director Ross Brawn expanded on the plans a bit more on the official F1 podcast. Racer reports that Brawn and the sport are considering running consecutive weekends at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

“It’s a real consideration because one of the logistical challenges is getting everyone tested and cleared to enter the paddock, to enter the racing environment,” Brawn said. “I think once we do that it’s very attractive to keep everyone in that environment—within that biosphere that we want to create—for another race.”

Ferrari to Restart Production Next Week

As lockdown restrictions lift in Italy, the country’s carmakers are getting back to work. Reuters reports that Ferrari plans on reopening its Modena and Maranello plants on Monday the 4th, with the intent of resuming full-scale production on the 8th. Ferrari has a unique plan for testing workers and monitoring who they come in contact with, alerting them if they were in contact with someone who has the virus. It’s an interesting approach, and one that could provide a template for reopening businesses around the world.

Hyundai U.S. Sales Drop 39 Percent in April

With April over, we can start really assessing the damage the coronavirus has inflicted on U.S. car sales. Automotive News reports that Hyundai saw a 39 percent year-over-year drop in April, though its retail sales were actually slightly up compared with March. The big hit came from fleet sales, which were down 74 percent as rental car companies scale back ordering, since, well, people aren’t renting cars right now. That’s bad news for Hyundai, and worse news for automakers who rely more heavily on fleet sales to juice their numbers. We’ll see the full extent of the damage as more automakers report their April sales in the coming days.

Source: Read Full Article