F1 bosses urged to be cautious by McLaren chief Seidl as chiefs consider staging 19 races after coronavirus eases
FORMULA ONE chiefs should not rush into staging races - despite their plan to cram in up to 19 GPs when the coronavirus pandemic eases, according to McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl.
The sport has been forced to cancel or postponed nine of this season's opening races, but F1's MD, Ross Brawn, said last week that he had hoped to squeeze in up to 19.
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However, Seidl, whose team withdrew from the Australian GP when a team member tested positive for the disease, says F1 need to be cautious.
McLaren's staff have taken wage cuts while others have been put on furlough, but despite the harsh financial realities, he says F1 needs to wait before putting on GPs, even if they are behind closed-door races.
He said: "There is a big desire from the public that sporting events happen again, even if it is just on TV, but there are a lot of different aspects that need to be considered.
"The most important thing is to protect our people, so definitely we can't go back until we know our people are safe.
"Then it will depend on the guidelines of our home countries first of all - the travel guidelines, for our daily life - and we need to see if that allows us to travel out and back again.
"What the different counties where the races should happen are deciding, and then we need to see what the promoters are deciding.
"If there are changes of dates, promoters need to be up for it and it needs to make sense from a commercial point of view.
"I think also what is important is the public acceptance of events happening again.
"It is important we only go back racing once we also have certainty that when it comes down to protective equipment, the number of tests for people, that this is all in place and available for the people who need it and we are not burning these tests just go back racing."
'WE DON'T WANT TO STAND IN THE WAY'
The French GP is next in line to be postponed on June 28 after the country's President, Emmanuel Macron, said restrictions on public events would continue until mid-July.
It means the race at Paul Ricard is likely to fall with the British GP at Silverstone next in line.
However, there is some hope that the Austrian GP on July 5th WILL go ahead behind closed doors.
Austrian sports minister and vice-chancellor Werner Kogler said the government would not oppose the race without spectators.
He said: "We don't want to stand in the way. This is a completely different situation than games in a stadium. Several people are affected.
"The minimum distance rules would have to be observed in the same way, of course. But that seems possible.
"I don't want to hide the fact that I'm in contact with the Styrian governor in this regard. This would be in the existing calendar in July.
"Ultimately, the sports federations must decide that for themselves. And that I was also in contact with [Red Bull Motorsport advisor] Helmut Marko, who for his part plays a corresponding role
at Red Bull and has acted as a mediator.
"I told him I would like to honour this, that we will forward all the applicable guidelines to the relevant motorsport associations as a service, so that they can see what is possible or not."
Meanwhile, despite looming financial gloom, Seidl says he does not think the sport is in danger of going bust, but says it is important that cost-caps are introduced to the sport's rules.
The German, 44, added: "I don't see any signs F1 will not exist next year. The biggest risk is we lose teams if we don't take decisive action.
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"It is important we put all these actions in place to do maximum money saving this year and then a lower budget cap to make a sport that is healthy and sustainable from the financial side.
"The crisis we are in is the final wake-up all that the sport which was unhealthy before and not sustainable has now reached a point where we need big changes, drastic changes.
"I have to hope if we make the right decisions now that F1 can be more sustainable and in a better more healthy state than in previous years and then it improves the show."