APRIL 14, 2020

Ecclestone urges F1 to cancel 2020 season

Bernie Ecclestone is still urging Formula 1 to simply cancel the entire 2020 season.

Bernie Ecclestone is still urging Formula 1 to simply cancel the entire 2020 season.

When asked by Italy's Corriere della Sera if he has been following the sport's crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic, he answered: "Yes, it was easy - nothing happened."

What has happened is that, one by one, race promoters have been postponing or cancelling their scheduled grands prix.

"If it was up to me, I would cancel the season," former F1 supremo Ecclestone said.

"How can you think of racing when nobody knows how the situation will evolve? Anyone who talks about this virus has no idea what it is. We know very little about it.

"So I would tell everyone to forget 2020 and focus on 2021. Prepare for next March because now it is not possible.

"I get a lot of calls from many of the organisers and they have a lot of problems - they don't even know if they can sell tickets. With all these restrictions, how will enough races be organised?" the 89-year-old added.

Many teams have now furloughed staff, amid widespread suggestions that some may fail altogether.

"This year they are receiving the payments from 2019 and can work to contain the damage," Ecclestone said.

"Then the teams will ask for more and more, which is no different from 30 years ago. You tell them a figure and they want more."

(GMM)