Is the 2020 season really reasonable?

The global pandemic is affecting sports and Formula 1, leaving top-level motorsports in limbo as several 2020 Grand Prix races are postponed. It may be time to close the book on this difficult year and, if possible, make a fresh start in 2021.

As the pandemic continues to rage around the world, perhaps the biggest challenge facing Formula 1 is no longer lap times, but staying on the starting grid. Fans are eager to see the season resume, but the sport's promoters are already considering a July start with a packed schedule of 18 or 19 Grand Prix races, a program that many fear will be impossible to complete safely.

So far, only Monaco has hinted that cancellation is possible, but it's a safe bet that a growing number of venues will be forced to pull out. With Covid-19 cases surging in several regions, hosting a large-scale Grand Prix before the summer seems unrealistic, even in the most optimistic scenarios. If the season does start, it will have to be compressed into a frantic series of consecutive weekends, meaning that many traditional hosts could lose their races. Recent outbreaks in places that thought they had seen the worst, such as Singapore, illustrate how unstable the situation remains. Liberty Media, through Ross Brawn, is advocating a schedule of three consecutive race weekends followed by a week's break, with the aim of staging 18 to 19 events in the year. This schedule would add pressure to a sport that was already warned last season about the overload of the calendar. The mishandling of the Australian Grand Prix in March, when the series appeared indifferent to global health concerns, has already tarnished F1's reputation. Insisting on holding a full championship without the necessary safety measures could turn this damage into a full-blown disaster.

The financial repercussions could be even more severe. While Liberty Media and the sport's governing body could weather a canceled season, the teams are much more vulnerable. Several teams have already furloughed staff, cut senior management salaries, and closed their factories for an early and extended summer break. Smaller, financially struggling teams such as Williams and Racing Point are at risk of running out of cash entirely. Their revenue streams, namely broadcast rights and sponsor payments, depend on races taking place; without a 2020 calendar, those revenues evaporate. The specter of teams withdrawing looms large, echoing the post-2008 crisis when major manufacturers pulled out to focus on their core automotive business, leaving F1's costly engineering program in the lurch. In response, a host of alternative formats have been proposed. Ideas range from non-championship exhibition races at circuits that have contained the virus, to double weekends at a single venue, to entirely redesigned race weekends that could serve as test beds for 2021. The key will be to separate viable concepts from wishful thinking. Organizing a handful of safe, non-points races could keep the sport in the spotlight while allowing Liberty Media to experiment with new weekend structures. It is clear that the current health crisis is forcing Formula 1 to rethink its operating model. Greater cooperation between teams could help preserve jobs and keep the grid intact. Cost reduction, a recurring theme, will become an urgent priority. Ultimately, the sport must refocus on its core values—people, competition, and the connection with fans—before it can rebuild the financial foundations that have been deeply shaken.