The fate of the 2020 Formula 1 season has been analysed with several options assessed or suggested by paddock figures.
Currently, the first eight races of the year have either been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic with the June and July events set to decide their fate next month.
However, should there be an improvement in the public health situation soon, former driver turned pundit David Coulthard believes the action could restart albeit behind closed doors.
“I really believe that sporting events will return much faster than concerts and other events that attract a lot of people, so the races will start again soon,” he told Dutch channel Ziggo Sport.
“I think the Grand Prix will take place without spectators in the stands soon.”
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Someone more in the know regarding Liberty Media’s thinking for a 2020 relaunch is Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto and he revealed some of the suggestions put forward.
“We speak with the other team principals and with the FIA, these are decisive moments,” he said via Crash.net.
“The theme of the calendar is crucial, for sport, for the show, but also for the teams and for the organisers.
“We have decided to give total freedom to the FIA to set up a timetable to get back to running as soon as possible, our availability is there,” he added.
“We evaluate several hypotheses: disputing the close Grand Prix, you can also think of doing two or three races in January, we also consider the possibility of cancelling free practice.”
Last week, however, ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone claimed he would have already abandoned the 2020 season and believes Liberty will struggle to form a new calendar.
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner though dismissed the idea for now.
“No. You can’t come up with that from a psychological point of view,” he told GPFans.
“If you put that out once then it will stick, and once you create that negative attitude…
“We need to keep on hoping it gets better and to be ready for any situation, then as soon as it gets better then we are there, to get back to normal again.”