Formula 1: Jacques Villeneuve;s idea for how to stage the 2020 F1 season

F1 2020

Villeneuve's idea for how to stage the 2020 F1 season

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Martin Macdonald

Saturday 4 April 2020 11:26

Jacques Villeneuve believes that there shouldn’t be a contested championship in 2020 due to the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic, but is eager to see special event races take its place when sport can get underway again.

The current outlined schedule for 2020 has been decimated, with eight races having been postponed or cancelled so far up until the middle of June.

With no clear start date on the horizon, F1 bosses have been forced into thinking of ideas to condense the championship in limited time, with the 2020 season (before the outbreak) being the busiest in history with 22 races.

Villeneuve thinks the campaign should be written off completely.

"It might be smarter to say: ‘There won't be a championship. We'll race and each race will be a unique event, like the Indy 500 or the Le Mans 24 Hours," the Canadian told Canal Plus.

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"Each Grand Prix would be like a Grand Slam rather a round of half of a championship.

"It would also allow teams to use the end of 2020 to prepare for 2021."

When racing is eventually allowed to restart, the former F1 world champion thinks it would be a mistake to try and fit as many events as possible in to the tightened calendar.

"Even if the world opens up and we can have a Grand Prix after the pandemic, it takes time to set up an event," he explained.

"The first Grands Prix on the calendar should take place in September. I imagine the various organizations and Formula 1's owners will want to hold the maximum amount of races to comply with their contracts' minimum requirement, but that would be a mistake.

"It would be a pity to start filling up August and then have races unfold from September until Christmas, and even beyond, just for the sake of having a championship."

At the time of writing, the Canadian GP will be the first event of the 2020 F1 season, but there are no guarantees this will survive the chop as the world adapts to the growing pandemic.