Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel says that Formula 1 needs to be careful about deciding exactly when the 2020 can finally get underway after its aborted start last month.
The Australian Grand Prix was cancelled at the last minute due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Since then more races have been indefinitely postponed or cancelled as the world waits out the effects of the global pandemic.
In a video conference with selected media conducted from his home in Switzerland, the four-time world champion said he totally understood the desire to get back to racing - but insisted that F1 must not jump the gun.
“What we would all like is to get back to normal,” Vettel said, according to Crash.net. “Not just for Formula 1 but for everybody’s sake, and the whole world
"But as I said previously in this regard, the best prescription will be to be patient.
“It is painful because I want to get back in the car," he acknowledged. "If I’m selfish I want to race. But there’s a lot of people that would like a lot of things right now, compared to the situation they’re actually in."
At the moment, the Austrian Grand Prix is in pole position to get the championship underway at the start of July. However such a race would likely to take place behind closed doors with no fans in attendance and the grandstands at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring completely empty.
“Probably at the very beginning the first couple of races will be compromised compared to what we’re used to," Vettel acknowledged.
"Hopefully not too much, because obviously we want to race in a way that we are all familiar with - meaning in front of crowds, in front of fans, with great atmosphere and so on.
"Nobody likes to race in front of empty grandstands," he admitted. "It feels a bit odd. But on the other hand the question is when is the right time to sort of say let’s start racing again."
As a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, Vettel has been involved in discussions between drivers, the FIA and F1 as to how the sport should proceed from its current total shutdown which will last until at least the start of May.
“We have spoken about that a fair amount inside the GPDA,” Vettel said. “On the one hand you have the health of the sport if you look at it from a business aspect.
"On another hand you have the responsibility of the people in the paddock," he stressed. "We have a lot of people that normally come to watch our races.
"We need to make sure that as much as we are taking care of ourselves, we are also taking care of the public.
"There’s a lot of options you can think of in terms of how to get going again, what’s the best format to start racing again. Whether it’s without fans, whether it’s with fans, ghost races [without fans present] or no-ghost races.
“We will probably have more races, they will be more packed but the limit should be the people,” he said. “It should be respected that they need a break, it’s not realistic to have ten back-to-back race weekends.”
Vettel added that the decision also depended on "whether a ghost race can be held much sooner than a race in a way that we’re used to it.
“It’s a very, very difficult one," he summarised. "It’s a tough decision."
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