In the past days FIA released a statement with information that the summer shutdown period that usually took place during end of July and August will be moved to March and April, as an attempt to recover the races that have been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in recent months that resulted in first four races of the season to be postponed. There is still a lingering possibility of 2 to 3 more races still being postponed, namely the Dutch GP and Spanish GP due to the situation in those countries. 

Here is the statement issued by FIA:

"In light of the global impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus currently affecting the organisation of FIA Formula One World Championship events, the World Motor Sport Council has approved a change to the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, moving the summer shutdown period from July and August to March and April and extending it from 14 to 21 days."  said the FIA communicate. 

"All competitors must therefore observe a shutdown period of 21 consecutive days during the months of March and/or April. The change was supported unanimously by both the F1 Strategy Group and F1 Commission.”

With that change in mind, many teams have been announcing from when they are starting the “summer shutdown”. Here is a recap on the information so far: 

Scuderia Ferrari: 

The team communicated that their summer shutdown will begin on 19 of March. A couple of days earlier it has been announced by Ferrari that they are shutting down their factories, both F1 and car production ones, due to the fact they are located basically in the heart of the pandemic of the COVID-19 in Italy.  

Full statement from Scuderia Ferrari: 

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, whose staff, along with millions of people in Italy and around the world, is having to deal with the Covid-19 virus pandemic, fully supports the FIA and Formula 1’s decision to bring forward the usual summer shutdown. Scuderia Ferrari will therefore be shut as from tomorrow, Thursday 19 March, up to Thursday 8 April inclusive.

The priority for the team has always been the safety of its employees and their families, which is why, for several days now work in the Maranello facility has been suspended, replaced where possible by a smart working system.

We are just as disappointed as our fans that we cannot be racing, as we have done for over 70 years, but when confronted by a situation as serious as this one, it is vital that we follow the advice of the authorities and limit all activities as much as possible in order to contain the virus as efficiently as possible. We will wait for the situation to improve so that we can return to normality, in our daily lives as well as in sport, including motor racing. In the meantime, our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus and those working on the front line to combat it.

Maintaining our distance, but still united, this virus can be defeated.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda:

The team announced that their summer summer shutdown will began on the 27th of March. The headquarters and factory of the team are located in Milton Keynes, UK, where currently the government is looking into lockdown of certain places, mainly London, due to the fast evolving pandemic situation in the country. 

Full statement from Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda: 

In light of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is in support of the decision taken by Formula One and the FIA to bring forward the annual shutdown from August to March / April 2020 and extend it to 21 days. As a Team we currently plan to shutdown on 27th March for a three week period, however due to the ever changing nature of the pandemic there may be some flexibility around these dates.

Whilst we would all love to return to racing, the severity of this global pandemic is changing by the hour and the impact transcends our sport. We therefore agree with the measures being taken to reduce the risk of transmission and will support any further race postponements that are deemed necessary.

The health, safety and wellbeing of our Team, guests, fans and the local communities we visit are our absolute priority and we are taking every possible precaution to mitigate the spread of the virus. As such, we will also be taking extra precautions as a Team to protect our workforce while they are in the factory by implementing special working measures, guided by the UK Government and medical professionals.

We share the disappointment of our fans and partners that purchased tickets to attend this year’s postponed Grands Prix and our well wishes go to our McLaren and Pirelli colleagues recovering from the COVID-19 virus, as well as the McLaren team members currently quarantined in Australia.

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN:

In a tweet after the decision of FIA, the team announced that it will go into shutdown starting on 23rd of March till 13th of April. 

Full statement from Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN:

As part of our sport’s concerted effort to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN will therefore observe a shutdown period of 21 consecutive days between March 23rd and April 13th, 2020. #F1

Renault F1:

The team released a statement with the information that the Renault F1’s factory in Enstone will be shutdown starting on 30th of March till 19th of April. Their location at Viry-Châtillon will be closed from the 20th of March till 5th of April, as measures responding to the current situation of the pandemic in France. Additionally, the employees have been advised to work from home.

Full statement from Renault F1: 

The current exceptional health situation has taken on such gravity that we are obliged to take strong decisions to fulfil our primary obligation: protecting the health of our employees and their family, plus participating in the national and international public health effort.

Renault Sport Racing has taken appropriate decisions given the urgency of the current situation, while anticipating an extended shutdown followed by an intense season once the situation is under control. Our decisions must also be consistent with French and English government advice, the policy of Groupe Renault, but also that of Formula 1 authorities.

The first of these decisions was to support McLaren’s decision not to participate in the Australian Grand Prix following a positive test in the paddock, then to quickly repatriate our track teams present in Melbourne. We subsequently asked them not to not return to Enstone or Viry-Châtillon for a minimum period of 14 days.

Working from home has been widespread for all employees able to do so at Viry-Châtillon. Following measures taken by the French Government and implemented from Monday evening in France, Renault Sport Racing’s management has also decided to close Viry-Châtillon from the evening of Friday 20 March until Sunday 5 April inclusive.

Working at home has been progressively implemented at Enstone and will be mandatory for all employees able to do so from Monday 23 March. In view of the escalating situation in Europe and after discussions between Formula 1 teams, F1 and the FIA, it was decided that the summer shutdown would be brought forward and extended by one week. It is in this context that we are currently planning the closure of the Enstone site from Monday 30 March until Sunday 19 April inclusive.

These initial measures taken at Enstone and Viry-Châtillon will be reviewed and adapted in view of the situation’s evolution.

We will now enter into a phase of in-depth discussions with F1, the FIA and the other teams to define and put in place measures that our sport will have to take in these exceptional circumstances. In the face of the coming challenges, responsibility and solidarity must prevail to reduce the impact of this health crisis

Haas F1: 

The team released a statement on twitter that their shutdown will begin on the 19th of March and will last till the 8th of April. The European base of the team is in Banbury, UK and the main headquarters is in Kannapolis, US, where more measures are implemented to fight the pandemic across the United States.

Full statement from Haas F1:

Following Wednesday’s World Motor Sport Council’s approved change to the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations governing the mandatory summer shutdown dates - moving the period to be taken from July and August and bringing tit forward to March and April, Haas F1 Team will observe a 21-day shutdown period from Thursday 19th March to Wednesday 8th April 2020. 

So far no statements have been released by the following teams: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, Scuderia Alpha Tauri Honda, ROKiT Williams Racing, McLaren F1 Team and BWT Racing Point F1 Team. The teams can be expected to announce their shutdown in a matter of days. 

Despite the change with the summer shutdown being brought to the period of March and April, as of now we have no decision yet when exactly and where will the 2020 F1 season start.