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Formula 1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn is confident a grand prix season of “17-18 races” is possible if races are rescheduled through the August break.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports F1, Brawn accepted that there would be quiet start to the season given the first four races are already officially off – with the latest suggestion that the campaign might start in Monaco at the end of May.
But he believes that by rescheduling many of these races and eliminating the August break, it will be possible to build a strong calendar provided the season is able to restart early enough.
“We’ll look at relocating those races later in the year and I think by freeing up the August break we give ourselves several weekends when we could have a race,” Brawn told Sky Sports F1.
“I think we can build a pretty decent calendar for the rest of the year.
“It will look different but we can still preserve a good number of races, and the exciting races. So the season’s going to start later but it will be just as entertaining.
“ We are in uncharted territory. I’m pretty optimistic that we can have a good 17-18 race championship or more, so I think we can squeeze them in.
“But it depends when the season can start.”
Brawn did not rule out the possibility of double-header races when asked about it by Martin Brundle, also saying that that two-day weekends are a possibility.
He stressed that the co-operation of the 10 F1 teams will be key to making this kind of calendar work, believing they will be accommodating given the need to maximise the number of races for their own financial well-being.
“It’s possible,” he said when asked about the possibility of double-headers with two grands prix on a weekend.
“One thing we have been talking about was two-day weekends, therefore if we had a triple-header with two-day weekends that could be an option.
“What we need from the teams this year is flexibility, they’ve got to give some scope to do these things because we are in very unusual circumstances and we’ve got to make sure we have a season that gives a good economic opportunity for the teams.
“We don’t [want to] put teams in too much hardship because we can’t have the races because somebody doesn’t want to do three weekends on the trot.
“We’re going to have a quiet start. I’m sure the teams will be flexible to allow us to fit those things in.”
