Formula 1 is working on a plan to rebuild the 2020 season by delaying its start and slotting in as many races as it can, according to F1’s head of motorsport, Ross Brawn.
Following the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix at the last minute, it’s expected both Bahrain and Vietnam will be postponed in the coming days – although the official line remains that this decision has yet to be taken.
China has already been postponed, whilst it’s expected any races in May (Netherlands, Spain and Monaco) also face the same fate and that could therefore mean the season start being delayed until June’s Azerbaijan GP.
If no changes to the calendar are made that would leave a 15-race schedule, but it’s expected that this year’s four-week summer break will be scrapped to at least allow for one or two postponed races to take place – likely European rounds.
Meanwhile flyaways such as Bahrain, Vietnam and China are likely to be moved to the back of the calendar which could see the season run well into December.
Brawn, who admitted he’s never experienced anything like this despite his long tenure in the sport, says the plan is to try and accommodate as many races as possible and that could mean some major shuffling of the present calendar.
“I don’t think anyone has experienced [a situation like] this in their lives,” he told the official F1 website. “I’ve been through financial crisis, dramas and the scale of this at the moment is massive.
“We are taking stock of the situation now and what we have learned from this weekend. We have to be realistic about when that can start again, which is what we’re working on at the moment.
“We have plans to rebuild the season and try and accommodate as many of the lost races as we can.
“I think people have to show some tolerance now in terms of how we build the season, for the rest of the year. I think the team is in the right place to realise that is necessary.”