F1 could start in Europe in late June
Like other sports, Formula One has postponed all of its first Grand Prix of the season to date, with the last being the Canadian Grand Prix. Now F1 sporting director Ross Brawn admits the possibility of the French Grand Prix starting the season, even if behind closed doors.
JUNE 28 MAY MAKE SEASON START
Ross Brawn recently gave an interview in the international press where he points out the end of June as a possible start to the F1 season. The Grand Prix de France is scheduled for 28 June and given the expected lifting of traffic restrictions in the coming weeks, it may become possible to start the competition that weekend, even if the event still takes place behind closed doors.
After nine races have been canceled at the start of the season due to the new coronavirus, this is a window of hope for the motorsport circus that, like others, has been seriously affected by this stop in financial terms.
Precisely for this reason, Ross Brawn now admits several scenarios that he would not have considered a month ago, namely the possibility of running races on three consecutive weekends and only resting one weekend per month in order to be completed 19 races until the end of the year.
This is the most likely scenario at the moment, but others may be considered if the restrictions continue and there is no security for pilots and stakeholders to carry out their work normally.
EIGHT RACING IS THE MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE
As I mentioned, Ross Brawn and the main F1 teams have already defined a minimum limit so that the season can happen with eight races being the last option, that is, in order to consider that we will have a championship it is essential that at least eight races take place, with a deadline starting in October.
Still, the current scenario on the table includes 19 Grand Prix events spread over about six months with three races per month and just one weekend of rest.
The running of nineteen races with three per month would be the most interesting scenario at this stage, even if it implied logistical difficulties that would have to be resolved, but at least F1 would return to our screens in a very authoritarian way with many races in sequence to liven up motorsport fans.
All these ideas are obviously still dependent on the evolution of the Covid-19 global pandemic with Europe continuing to be in serious difficulties in its most central countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Italy or the United Kingdom.
LEWIS HAMILTON ANXIOUS TO MAKE HISTORY
Despite the fact that the current driver’s world champion has spoken out against the start of the season and was one of the ones who fought the most for the FIA to finally postpone the start of the season, the truth is that few will be more eager to compete than the British pilot.
At the age of 35, Hamilton has won six world champion titles and is only one behind the mythical Michael Schumacher. Currently, the English driver is racing for Mercedes where he has been the dominant rider of the race, having won five titles in the last six years – only letting go of the title in 2016 for his teammate Nico Rosberg.
Thus, the expectations that he can continue to celebrate titles are strong and there is a serious possibility of overtaking the German driver as the most titled driver in F1 history.
For that, you have to get out on the road and at 35 years of age it would certainly be a frustration for him that the 2020 season did not happen. This would take away a year of competition at an advanced stage in his career where time to make more history may start to run out.
It is true that Hamilton has given more than enough signs that he continues to retain all his physical and psychological skills to stand out from the others, however, every year there are riders taking a step forward on the world circuit, notably the recent emergence of new talent like Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen.
The pre-season tests had again shown signs that Mclaren continued to hold the best single-seater for the new season, so Hamilton was already considered the outstanding favorite to win a new driver’s world title and this waiting period will be generating some impatience in the leaders of the most successful team of the last decade in the sport.
