Formula 1 races amid COVID-19 fears in Europe could be behind closed doors

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown says that all Formula 1 races held in Europe this season could be closed to spectators, a BBC report.

The report indicates that on Thursday, F1 bosses discussed a plan to start the season with the Austrian Grand Prix behind closed doors on 5 July, then two races at Silverstone.

It says that the first nine races of the season have been called off and F1 is looking at all options as it seeks to start a season that has been turned upside down by the global Coronavirus crisis.

A valid World Championship could be held even if the season cannot start until October, said F1 managing director Ross Brawn.

However, the hope is to hold a season of as many as 18 or 19 races if the coronavirus situation is sufficiently under control by the summer to start racing in Europe.

“With now our condensed schedule, what’s the best way to get as much racing done as possible? One of the ideas is potentially multiple events at the same location, Silverstone is one of those,” Brown told a BBC Radio program.
He said, “There’s little to no revenue coming in. You know, we’re not racing.”

“The contributions that the promoters make, sponsor partners, have been great, but they’re under an immense amount of pressure themselves,” he added. “So we have kind of turned the faucets off on any money we’re spending to limp through to when we’re ready to start racing again.”