Up to 19 races, potentially behind closed doors

As the first nine races of the season have been canceled or postponed, Liberty Media and the FIA are embroiled in a logistical nightmare to preserve both the number of races (a source of revenue for the sport’s owners and teams) while also addressing the imperatives of health security.

One of the main difficulties is that the teams are spread across the continent, with teams in England, Switzerland, and Italy, which increases the risk of being in a high-risk zone. The solution could be to carry out isolated trips with closed-door races, so as not to risk contaminating local populations, as Ross Brawn explained to Sky Sports: « The transportation of teams and all concerned individuals will be one of the biggest problems. Once there, we could be rather isolated. We are considering a start in Europe, which could be a closed-door event. We could be confined, where teams arrive on charter flights, shuttles take them to the circuit. We could then test everyone, ensuring there are no risks for anyone. »

The second difficulty is related to the recurrence of races: F1 does not want to find itself in a situation where it launches a season and then is unable to continue the rest of the season. We are looking at the organizational structure that would allow us to start as soon as possible but also maintain this start of the season. There is no point in starting the season and then stopping for a while. It will certainly take place in Europe. It is conceivable that it will be a closed event.

Then there is the question of the number of races to be run. The legal minimum is eight, to validate the world championship titles. Then more races can be held, which guarantees the payment of rights by the circuits. Initially, Chase Carey aimed for between 15 and 18 races. Ross Brawn is now even aiming for up to 19 races, with only three cancellations compared to the 22 initially planned.

Reasonably, we are heading towards a season start in July as it’s hard to imagine the French Grand Prix taking place at the end of June while the French government plans to extend the general lockdown. This could mean a season start at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. This circuit has the advantage of being located in the middle of the Alps, with few large cities nearby, but with top-notch facilities and in a country that is already considering easing lockdown measures due to the low number of Covid-19 cases.

But if this schedule were to be implemented, the pace would be simply hellish for all team employees and support staff: « If we can start in early July, we can have a 19-race season. It will be tough: three races in a row, one weekend break, then three races in a row, one weekend break. We have analyzed all logistical options and we can have an 18 or 19 race season if we can start in early July. The choice is between these two numbers. »

But in order to slightly relieve the pressure and especially to allow long-haul travel, particularly to China, an essential market for F1 and the major companies involved, the format of race weekends could also be revised: We might have two-day races to cope with logistical constraints. For example, it seems likely that China would be over two days if we go there to be able to arrive and move on to the next planned event.

Faced with a historic situation, F1 can seize the opportunity to reinvent itself by experimenting with a new calendar and new race formats. If successful, it could be adopted in future seasons.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr