12/06/2020
NEWS STORY
As F1 bosses seek to salvage as much as they can of the 2020 season, seemingly nothing is being left off the table, including an "almost oval" race in Bahrain.
While the sport has announced the opening eight races, there is uncertainty over what will follow. Because a number of events are in doubt, including Singapore, Azerbaijan and Japan, there is talk of further races in Europe including Mugello.
Both Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will almost certainly go ahead as planned, however, blocked by Mercedes in its attempts to introduce reverse-grid qualifying races at back-to-back events, Ross Brawn reveals that a unique solution is being considered for Bahrain.
"There is a contingency to have an extended European season with another one or two races if needed," he tells the official F1 website. "I think Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will be the backstop of the season from what we can see at the moment. That gives us ten. We'll find at least five or six good races in the middle.
"We recognise that venues where they have to build a track, such as Baku or Singapore, need more notice than permanent tracks," he added. "Every aspect has been considered, and I think we can have a very good second half of the season. There will be some races which don't happen, might be some races we put in, but there's lots going on."
"One of the nice attractions of Bahrain is it has many configurations," he continued, "so we could go to Bahrain and race on two different tracks there.
There's a nice sort of almost oval track that would be quite exciting, and all the layouts have a Grade 1 licence with the FIA, so that is an option in the pocket.
"Using two configurations involves quite a lot of work for the riggers," he admits, "for example the timing needs setting up for two tracks so you need plenty of notice. That's something we have to take into account."
In terms of replacing those events that need to be dropped from the schedule, he said: "There are a number of good European tracks where we could add another one or two races on to make sure we have a comprehensive season. We're not going to declare it yet, as it's still a work in progress.
"What we really want to avoid is announcing and changing it," he adds. "We also need to announce it in enough time so people can make plans. We hope some races in the second half of the season will have spectators, so we need time for ticket sales and promotion to take place."
Referring to the reverse-grid proposal blocked by Mercedes, Brawn admits that these could still be introduced in 2021.
"Reverse grid races are still on the table for next year," he said, while adding that any such format changes this year will be "quite subtle".