The Chinese Grand Prix could be moved to the end of the season in between the penultimate race and the season finale.
The race in Shanghai — originally set to take place on April 19 — had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak, with plans to try to slot it into the calendar at a later date.
Now F1 officials believe they might be able to move it to November 22, meaning there would be three races in as many weekends to round off the season.
Any proposal would need to receive the full backing of all the teams on the grid.
The matter is set to be discussed this week during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Sebastian Vettel was forced to pull out of the opening day of testing with illness.
The four-time world champion had been scheduled to get Ferrari’s early 2020 ambitions under way at the Circuit de Catalunya, but this morning Ferrari announced the 32-year-old German had withdrawn, to be replaced by his team-mate, Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari said in a brief statement: “F1 testing change of plan: Seb not feeling great this morning, so Charles is taking over driving duties for the day.”
Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was due later on track with Mercedes, sharing the driving for the first of three days of testing with team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The season opens in Melbourne on March 15.
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