Shortening a race weekend to two days and running the Formula One season into January next year are among the radical solutions being considered to get the sport racing again, according to Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto.
The first eight races of this year have been cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic and F1’s chief executive, Chase Carey, has insisted the sport is committed to holding a 2020 championship, with the season beginning in the summer under a revised calendar of between 15 and 18 grands prix.
The Canadian Grand Prix on 14 June is listed as the first race at present but even if that is possible then starting that late leaves a limited period of time to hold the subsequent meetings and reschedule those that have been postponed. Since grand prix weekends consist of three days – two practice sessions on Friday, practice and qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday – to hold more meetings in a condensed period, F1, the FIA and the teams are considering changing the established format.
“We are engaged in constant dialogue,” Binotto, Ferrari’s principal, told Sky Sports Italia. “I have felt, along with the other team principals, that these are crucial moments.
“With regards to the timetable, we have given Carey and the FIA the freedom to define the calendar as they need to under these conditions. We can also have two-day weekends, with free practice moved to Saturday morning, so that we can meet the logistical needs in case of grands prix being close together.”
A minimum of eight races are required for a world championship. The current calendar concludes in Abu Dhabi on 29 November but Binotto believes rolling races into 2021 is now a viable option. “These are all places where we, as a team, need to ensure maximum availability,” he said when asked about extending the season into next year. “If this allows us to guarantee a more complete 2020 world championship, with the following season not starting until March, there is great availability for that.”
Coronavirus continues to threaten the calendar, however. The race in Canada is in peril, given the country has closed its borders, with a decision to be made about its staging expected in the next two weeks. That would leave France on 28 June as the next scheduled race, but that, too, is vulnerable. The Le Mans 24 hours set for 14 June has already been postponed.
