Formula One's managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn has admitted that the 2020 F1 season could begin behind closed doors.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic means the new campaign has still to get underway, with the opening nine races now either postponed or cancelled outright following confirmation earlier this week that the Canadian Grand Prix - scheduled to be held in Montreal on June 14 - will be delayed.
Races in Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Spain, China and Azerbaijan have also been affected, while the world-famous Monaco Grand Prix will not take place for the first time since 1954.
The sport's annual shutdown - brought forward from the summer - has also been extended by a further two weeks and Brawn says that the sport are exploring the option of how a closed race might work.
The Bahrain Grand Prix was due to be held without fans in attendance last month before its eventual postponement.
"At the moment we are looking at the logistics of a closed race, how would we get the people there, how would we protect them, how would we make it safe, who would we allow into the paddock," Brawn said on a Sky Sports vodcast. "Every permutation is being discussed."
He added: "We could have a very enclosed environment where the teams come in on charters, we channel them into the circuit, we make sure everyone's tested, cleared, there's no risk to anyone and we have a race without spectators.
"That's not great, but I think it's still better than no racing at all. I think we have to remember there's millions of people that follow the sport sat at home...to be able to put on a sport and entertain people would be a huge bonus with this crisis we have."
Brawn added that October would be the deadline for beginning the season, with eight races needed for a viable championship.
He said that a delay into January 2021 was being considered, with a 19-race season possible - with some race weekends reduced to two days - if the campaign is able to get underway in July.
Additional reporting by Reuters
