Brown assuming F1 'will hit a glitch' when season starts

McLaren boss Zak Brown is confident F1 will be able to raise the curtain on its truncated 2020 season in July but the American is also expecting complications to pop at some point during the campaign.

Formula 1 is organizing its return at the Red Bull Ring on July 5 if safety conditions linked to the coronavirus pandemic allow for the event to take place in Austria.

The sport is hopeful of setting up double-header events behind closed doors at the Red Bull Ring and at Silverstone, with a yet-to-be-determined schedule expected to unfold thereafter.

• F1 to test paddock members for COVID-19 'every two days'

Races will be framed around a strict health protocol that will include testing for COVID-19 of paddock members and restrictive measures applied within the confines of F1's dedicated "biosphere" environment.

While hoping for the best, Brown is expecting potential complications to pop up at some point during the campaign.

"I think we will do a couple of races in Austria, a couple of races at Silverstone," said Brown who is hopeful of F1 undertaking 14 or 15 races.

"If we start running into issues with travelling, then I think you could see doubling up some other races.

"I’m going to assume that we’re going to hit a glitch, somewhere along the way.

"If we want to go to Asia, or America, I think it’s going to be when we get on planes and have to fly overseas where I think the risk will start to potentially get greater."

Formula 1 has yet to name the races that could be re-instated during the month of August, but with many countries extending their ban of public events over the summer, rebuilding a calendar will prove challenging.

So far, all races scheduled for after the summer are set to go ahead, but double header weekends could be included at several venues to allow the sport to reach a reasonable quota of races.

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