F1 Summer Break brought Forward to combat Virus

The Formula 1 summer break has been brought forward from the usual August time as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new season has been tossed into chaos by the virus and F1 is dealing with plans to run as long a season as possible when races can be held.

Following unanimous agreement, the ‘break' will be kept in March and April, with groups choosing a three-week period in that time to close.

It is usually kept in August, when teams shut down for two weeks.

The change, made to assist in fitting in as numerous races as possible once the season starts, was authorized by governing body the FIA's legislative body, the World Motor Sport Council, on Wednesday.

Additional changes are anticipated in due course. Groups and F1 employers are working on strategies for a reshaped calendar with a minimized number of races from the 22 initially scheduled in 2020.

The 4 opening races in Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam and China have all been delayed, and the three next events in the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco are expected to follow in the coming days.

Red Bull said in a declaration that they were preparing to close down for 3 weeks from 27 March however “there may be some versatility around those dates due to the ever-changing nature of the pandemic”.

The previous champions stated they “agreed with the measures being taken to lower the risk of transmission and will support any more race posts ponement that are considered essential”.

They said they were “taking every possible precaution to mitigate the spread of the virus” and were “implementing unique working approaches, assisted by the UK federal government and doctor”.

F1 bosses are presently working on a plan to begin the season with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 7 June but that is reliant on the advancement of the coronavirus break out and related international travel constraints.

A variety of races have been identified as the most likely to be ended a truncated arranged, with Monaco, Brazil, Spain, China and Australia at the top of the list.

Teams are attempting to protect the required unanimous agreement on a plan to postpone till 2022 the intro of significant guidelines modifications which are arranged for next season.

Nine of the 10 teams concurred to the proposal at a meeting on Tuesday, with only Ferrari requesting for more time to consider it.

The idea behind the strategy is to keep expenses under control at a time when groups are facing minimized profits as a result of the expected lower variety of races.

A further conference is scheduled for Thursday to talk about the matter again.

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