SM
Arsenal vs. Villa: 12 hrs 58 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

F1 floundering amid coronavirus crisis

:Headline: F1 floundering amid coronavirus crisis: ID:393379: from db_amp
With the coronavirus pandemic having brought the sport - and the wider world - to an indefinite standstill, Formula 1 is still grappling to decide its next moves.

With the coronavirus pandemic having brought the sport - and the wider world - to an indefinite standstill, Formula 1 is still grappling to decide its next moves.

In hurriedly organised teleconferences involving the teams, the FIA and Liberty Media, one major focus has been the reorganisation of the existing 2020 calendar.

With the consent of the teams, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council has now ratified the moving of the 'summer' break from August to March, and extended the mandatory factory shutdown period from 14 to 21 days.

Red Bull said: "Whilst we would all love to return to racing, the severity of this global pandemic is changing by the hour and the impact transcends our sport."

Beyond that, Formula 1 is in serious financial trouble. On February 20, the sport's share price - FWONK - was $46. Now, it is about $20.

"The reason is obvious," said Auto Motor und Sport editor Michael Schmidt. "No races, no money."

F1's new financial crisis means that, in one of those teleconferences, nine of the ten teams even agreed to delay the 2021 regulations until 2022.

The proposal means the current and unraced 2020 cars will be homologated until the end of 2021, with only aerodynamic developments permitted next year.

Only Ferrari, whose factory in the Italian 'red zone' is currently closed, has asked for more time to think.

Another teleconference is scheduled for Thursday, but Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer said keeping the 2020 cars for 2021 as well is a no-brainer.

"Given the dramatic situation, there is actually no other option," he said.

The solution would also give Formula 1 the flexibility to extend the 2020 season - whenever it gets underway - into January of 2021.

There are also rumours that the $175 million budget cap for 2021 may be reduced.

"Now the big teams need to put their arrogance aside, because they're under pressure now too," said an unnamed team boss.

amp_article__393379 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-19 07:04:25:
html db last update - 2020-03-19 07:04:25 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Coronavirus outbreak - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Otmar Szafnauer

Click here for more stories about Racing Point

Share this article now:
Read more about Otmar Szafnauer Formula 1
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool20145148202847
2Arsenal21127241192243
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle21115537221538
5Chelsea21107441261537
6Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
7Aston Villa2110563132-135
8Bournemouth219753225734
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2171043229331
10Fulham217953230230
11Brentford218494037328
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd217592629-326
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham217592741-1426
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs21731143321124
15Crystal Palace215972328-524
16Everton203891526-1117
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2144133148-1716
18Ipswich TownIpswich2137112037-1716
19Leicester CityLeicester2135132346-2314
20Southampton2113171347-346
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .