PARIS, March 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – It was supposed to be a record 22-race
world championship but with seven Grands Prix already either postponed or
cancelled, Formula One in 2020 has become a shorter, tightly-packed and
economically challenging sprint for the title.
The season-opener in Australia and F1’s iconic Riviera showpiece in Monaco
have been axed.
Races in Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Netherlands and Spain have also been
shelved but with organisers still hoping to shoehorn them into a breathless
finale once the threat of the coronavirus had subsided.
A season which should have started in Melbourne on March 14 will now not
start until Azerbaijan on June 7 — at the earliest.
“It’s super complicated to redo a calendar because you don’t know when
everything will be operational,” Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of the
Alfa Romeo F1 team, told AFP. “You need to have a global vision. England is
not too affected at the moment but it could be when Italy is less affected,”
he added in reference to the two countries which play host to most of the
teams in the world championship.
There are still 15 races left on the schedule before the concluding race at
Abu Dhabi on November 29.
Last weekend, Ross Brawn, the sporting director of F1, said he was
optimistic of a “17-18 race” championship.
However, that was when only Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China had been
dropped.
On Thursday, the Dutch Grand Prix, slated to make its return to the
calendar for the first time since 1985 on May 3, and the Spanish event, set
for May 10, were postponed.
The Monaco GP, an annual showstopper since 1955 and set for May 24 this
year, was cancelled completely.
– ‘Unchartered territory’ –
“We are in unchartered territory. I’m pretty optimistic that we can have a
good 17-18 race championship or more,” Brawn told Sky Sports.
“I think we can squeeze them in. But it depends on when the season can
start.”
There is wriggle room.
The traditional three-week summer shutdown in August has been scrapped to
be replaced by a 21-day break in March and April while the racing season
hunkers down.
The championship now becomes a frantic six-month sprint rather than a nine-
month marathon.
To rescue the calendar, there is an option of two races organised on the
same weekend.
“It’s possible,” said Brawn, eyeing the three weeks between the Hungarian
Grand Prix on August 2 and at Spa in Belgium on August 30.
“One thing we have also been talking about is two-day weekends, and
therefore if we have a triple header with two-day weekends, that could be an
option.”
F1 experimented with three races in a row in 2018 but support was lukewarm
from teams who sweated over staff fatigue.
“I think what we need from the teams this year is flexibility, I think
they’ve got to give some scope to do these things,” added Brawn.
“Because we are in very unusual circumstances, and we’ve got to make sure
we’ve got a season that gives a good economic opportunity for the teams.
“For sure we’re going to have a quiet start. I’m sure the teams will be
flexible to allow us to fit those things in.”
More than ever, bank balances and income will be key in 2020 as teams and
organisers grapple with the implications of a shorter, crammed season.
“The costs are not necessarily much lower if you do 18 races rather than
22,” said Vasseur.
“Also, our income will be less — we do fewer races, we will have less
commercial rights.”