May 8 (GMM) F1 CEO Chase Carey has admitted it is possible there will be “no racing” at all in 2020.
Currently, Liberty Media is working on a plan to get back up and running amid the corona crisis with back-to-back ‘ghost race’ weekends in Austria in July.
Indycar and MotoGP have similar plans to hit the throttle again in a limited way from June and July respectively.
Carey said the plan for “the latter part of the year” would hopefully involve spectators in the grandstands again.
“We’re in discussion with all of our promoters as well as some tracks that are not currently on our 2020 calendar to ensure we explore all options,” he said.
However, he said there are “no guarantees”, admitting “the remote possibility of no racing in 2020”.
The situation has really hurt F1’s bottom line already, with an 84 percent collapse in revenue representing a loss of more than $200 million in the first quarter of 2020 alone.
But there are signs of hope. Monza has announced that its plans for the grand prix in September are on track, while Corriere dello Sport said an Austria-style back-to-back Italian GP event is even possible.
Italian automobile club chief Angelo Sticchi Damiani told Italy’s Sky Sport 24: “We don’t have the crystal ball to know what will happen in early September.
“We hope the emergency is over, we hope for a miracle, but today we are preparing for a grand prix behind closed doors.”
But for the moment, the wider F1 world is generally rallying behind the ‘ghost race’ plan that is initially spearheaded by Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz.
“It’s definitely positive and a clear signal for Formula 1,” former driver Marc Surer told Sport1.
“It is even costing Dietrich Mateschitz a lot of money, because as the organiser, Red Bull loses if the spectators can’t come. So it’s quite impressive,” he said.