Formula 1 'won't rush' the return of spectators
Formula 1 'won't rush' the return of spectators
Formula 1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn has said nothing is "absolutely guaranteed" when it comes to spectators returning to the grandstands in 2020.
The first eight races of the season are expected to be held behind closed doors, but the status of any additional races as 'open' or 'closed' events remains unknown.
“We won’t rush that,” Brawn told the 2020 FIA eConference when asked about F1's strategy for seeing fans return to the track.
“Some of the later European races are optimistic, but we prefer not to plan on that.
“I think it’s when we go to the flyaway races that we can start to hope that we will have fans, but even that’s not absolutely guaranteed.
“To have the race in a safe and secure environment is critical. We’re going around the world, we can’t have a problem in one country that stops us going to other countries, so we’ll progress slowly on that front.”
Although declaring fans to be crucial, Brawn stressed that F1 has only been able to make such a swift comeback due to the fact racing behind closed doors was viewed as the least worse scenario.
“The fact that we were prepared to accept closed races in the early part of the season gave us more opportunity,” continued Brawn.
“That’s not the ideal, it’s not the ideal for any sport because the fans are such a crucial part of it.
"But we felt that going racing and broadcasting racing and engaging the fans with racing in what ways we could was still much more desirable than doing nothing.
“So approaching closed-fans events gave us the bulk of the European season.
“We’re going to adjust that as we progress and we come to understand where we are with this pandemic, so our first half of the season is European based.
“We’re still pretty fluid on the second half. I think we’re confident we’re going to finish in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, but we’re filling in the space in between.”
Vital to F1 is the return of spectators comes at the right time, and only when it is safe to do so. Brawn added: "We don’t want to jump in and have to jump out again when we find the problem.”
Before you go...
Ricciardo chalks up over a century of laps on F1 return
Reverse grids "treacherous water" for Formula 1 - Webber
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 2025 Driver Lineup: Big names on the move as half the grid reshuffles for next season
- 20 minutes ago
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- Today 11:27
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 3 hours ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- Today 12:59
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- Today 12:38
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- Today 12:05
Related news
FIA boss HITS OUT at 'court of public opinion' after interference allegations
FIA announce crucial top three UPDATE in China after investigating F1 star
FIA CANCEL important drivers' meeting after huge drama in China
Ecclestone's wife signs letter of SUPPORT for under-fire FIA president
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860