Coronavirus: F1 teams open to two-day GPs and season extension

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto believes everyone involved in F1 will do all they can to put on something close to a full 2020 season.

Published : Mar 28, 2020 20:58 IST

Binotto and his Ferrari drivers at Monza last year
Binotto and his Ferrari drivers at Monza last year
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Binotto and his Ferrari drivers at Monza last year

Formula One teams are discussing the prospect of holding two-day grands prix and extending the 2020 season until January 2021.

Chase Carey, the CEO of F1, is still hoping to hold 15 to 18 races this season once normality has returned after the coronavirus pandemic.

The first eight races of the campaign are either postponed or cancelled with more likely to follow as lockdown restrictions remain widespread.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto thinks teams will be as flexible as possible to find a solution, including two-day race weekends with practice held on a Saturday.

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"We are engaged in constant dialogue," Binotto told Sky 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.

"In addition, the current shutdown leaves room for the possibility of being able to compete in August if there are conditions to be able to do so."

Binotto would be willing to race into 2021 if it meant something closer to a full championship could take place.

He, his drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, as well as the whole Ferrari team, are working remotely.

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"These are all places where we, as a team, need to ensure maximum availability," Binotto said about extending the season.

"If this [move] allows us to guarantee a more complete 2020 world championship, with the following season not starting until March, there is great availability for that.

"We started [remote] smart-working right after Australia. Now we're in FIA shutdown, which continues the period that in our case started early.

"With Seb and Charles, we speak almost daily. They are both at home and they are training as always. They are undoubtedly fit."

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