Sebastian Vettel believes winning the 2020 Formula 1 title would not be diminished by having fewer races.
Initially, a record 22 Grands Prix were planned this year but now almost half have been either cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus, with more expected to follow.
As a result, that has left F1 bosses scrambling to put a new schedule together with a current plan for up to 18 races, though only a minimum of eight is needed to form a valid championship.
“I don’t know how it would feel because we never had that sort of circumstance,” Vettel told select media on how he’d feel as champion of a shortened season.
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“Before we had less races in the past and more races today, but I don’t think it makes a big difference.
“Obviously a season is a season, whether it’s 10, 15 or 20, 25 races. So you still have to be the one that is most consistent.
“With less races, every race is more important, but the championship would still be the championship.
“So it’s still a long way, and you know, each single race weekend is a long way and races mean there will still be a lot of things to get right.”
For now, however, Vettel is remaining cautious about if F1 will go racing at all in 2020, despite plans being considered for closed-door events in Austria and Britain.
“I think at this stage, nobody really knows what to expect from this year, from this season,” he admitted.
“Maybe this season is going into part of next year as well. I don’t know. So, lots of ideas, lots of options, but I think we have to have to be patient and wait.”
Previously, MotoGP CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has warned it is possible this year may not see any races take place at all, something McLaren’s Carlos Sainz says would be devastating.
“I prefer to think there’s going to be fewer races than to imagine everything will be cancelled,” he told Spanish media.
“Abandoning the season would be a hard blow that would be difficult to accept.
“If the situation doesn’t get under control it would be fully understandable, but it would have very negative consequences for the sport and everything surrounding it.
“A lot of jobs would be at risk and that’s never good.”
