Formula 1 is considering a revised format to squeeze the Chinese Grand Prix back onto the calendar later this year.
This week, the race in Shanghai was officially postponed as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak which now goes by the name of Covid-19 and has killed almost 1,400 people across the country
However, given the importance of the Chinese market, F1 owners Liberty Media are pushing to reschedule towards the end of the season and a new solution has been rumoured.
On Friday, RaceFans journalist Fritz-Deiter Rencken tweeted an idea to host the event on the weekend of November 21-22, with a format that would see two practice sessions on Saturday and qualifying and the race on Sunday.
He added this would be considered a “dry run” for a future weekend format, while also accommodating the huge swings in timezones and distance travelled to hold the race between the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi GP’s.
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Of course, there is no official news yet on any new date and in the meantime, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has declared the health of his team personnel will come first as attention turns to Vietnam, which is set to host its first F1 race on April 5.
“I actually spoke with [F1 CEO] Chase [Carey] two days ago about China before the official announcement came out,” he told Crash.net.
“Obviously the wellbeing of McLaren and the greater world is of utmost importance.
“Vietnam has not been raised yet as a potential issue but obviously it is very nearby and neighbouring China so we are going to monitor the situation.
“We would never do anything that puts our people at risk, and I don’t believe Formula 1 would as well. So I think, like the rest of the world, we will just continue to monitor the situation.”