Ross Brawn confirms F1 is planning double-header races
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Formula 1’s managing director Ross Brawn says the championship is seriously considering running two races at the same venue as part of its plan to get the 2020 season underway.Championship officials are frantically working on a plan to get the 2020 campaign off the ground amid the enforced hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the opening 10 races of the season postponed or cancelled.In an initial blueprint revealed earlier this week, F1 is aiming to return to racing with a behind closed doors Austrian Grand Prix on July 5. F1 CEO Chase Carey insisted he is “increasingly confident” about its plans to start the season and said a full rescheduled calendar would be unveiled as soon as possible.Amid recent speculation that F1 was aiming to hold back-to-back races, a week apart, at some rounds including at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, Brawn confirmed the plan when speaking to the new official Formula 1 podcast.“It’s a real consideration because one of the logistical challenges is getting everyone tested and cleared to enter the paddock, to enter the racing environment,” Brawn said.“I think once we do that it’s very attractive to keep everyone in that environment, within that biosphere, for another race.“It’s also pretty challenging to find the right races early on where we can control the environment well enough.“Austria fits that bill very well. It has a local airport that people can charter planes too. It’s not close to a metropolis, it has the right infrastructure around it, in that there’ll be no motorhomes but there’ll be full catering facility laid on that the circuit has.“We can basically contain everyone within that environment and therefore once we’re there it’s appealing to have another race the following week.”Brawn also spoke of the “massive” logistical challenges faced by F1 due to the national travel restrictions and social distancing measures enforced across the globe, adding that F1 is doing everything possible to ensure racing can resume safely.“[It’s] a massive logistical challenge, as you can imagine, because running an F1 race is a big challenge anyway, running an F1 race in these circumstances is new to all of us,” he explained.”4“We’re working our way through all the requirements to make sure we operate in a safe environment for the drivers, engineers, technicians, for everyone involved, and we put on the right show.“It’s important to get the season going, for many reasons, one is obviously to excite the fans, we’ve all been frustrated by the delays and it’s also a very important livelihood for thousands of people.”
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