Carey banking on summer start for F1 and at least 15 races

Formula 1 chief executive Chase Carey expects racing to resume some time over the summer and a schedule that would include at least 15 races.

Monday saw an eighth round of the F1 world championship called off when organisers for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix postponed their June 7 event in Baku City.

In a statement released by F1 this afternoon, Carey addressed the prospects for the sport moving forward but warned that more races could get the temporary axe.

"While at present no-one can be certain of exactly when the situation will improve, it will improve and when it does, we will be ready to go racing again," Carey said. "We are all committed to bringing our fans a 2020 Championship Season.

"We recognise there is significant potential for additional postponements in currently scheduled events, nonetheless we and our partners fully expect the season to start at some point this summer, with a revised calendar of between 15-18 races."

• Baku City officially postpones Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

While Monaco has been officially cancelled for this year, not all previously postponed rounds will find a spot on the calendar later this year.

Carey could not offer any insight into which races could be re-instated and which events will fall to the wayside. But F1's boss is anticipating that the season will extend well into December.

"As previously announced we will utilise the summer break being brought forward to March/April to race during the normal summer break period, and anticipate the season end date will extend beyond our original end date of 27-29th November, with the actual sequence and schedule dates for races differing significantly from our original 2020 calendar," he added.

"It is not possible to provide a more specific calendar now due to the fluidity of the current situation but we expect to gain clearer insights to the situation in each of our host countries, as well as the issues related to travel to these countries, in the coming month.

"Between Formula 1, the teams and the FIA, working with our key stakeholders, we are planning and fully committed to returning to the track at the earliest opportunity to commence the 2020 season.

"We will continue to take advice from health officials and experts, as our first priority continues to be the safety and health of our fans, the communities we visit and those within the Formula 1 family.

"We’re confident we’ll all get through this and see better days, ahead, and, when we do, we will ensure that everyone invested in this sport at every level feels rewarded."

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