Steiner: Talk of cancelling the season is psychologically damaging

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes it would be psychologically damaging if Formula 1 held discussions just yet over cancelling the season.

To date, eight races have either been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the season not due to begin until mid-June in Canada, at the earliest.

A decision on whether that race will go ahead, and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in mid-July, are both due to be taken around Easter.

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has suggested if he was still in charge he would "close down talk of having any races this year".

Asked whether there had been any consideration given as yet to cancel the season, Steiner told GPFans: "No. You can't come up with that from a psychological point of view.

"If you put that out once then it will stick, and once you create that negative attitude....

"We need to keep on hoping it gets better, and to be ready for any situation, that as soon as it gets better then we are there, to get back to normal again."

In contrast to Ecclestone, current F1 boss Chase Carey has declared that he fully expects the season to start at some stage this summer "with a revised calendar of between 15-18 races".

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