LONDON, United Kingdom, Apr 21 – Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says the “chances are good” that the Austrian GP will go ahead as planned in early July, albeit behind closed doors.
To date nine Formula 1 grands prix have either been cancelled or postponed with France expected to make it number 10.
That leaves Austria as the next race to decide whether or not to press ahead with its plans to host a grand prix in early July.
As things stand, it looks as if it will.
The track is owned by Red Bull, one of the teams who wanted to go racing in Australia, and the Austrian government has already said it “won’t stand in the way” as long as the event is held behind closed doors.
Marko says he understands the reasoning behind that.
The Red Bull advisor told Motorsport.com: “The Formula 1 community is afraid of being infected and wants to isolate itself as much as possible.
“At the same time that’s good, because the population is also afraid of being infected. Everyone is afraid and therefore everyone will be extremely careful.”
Careful will not only mean racing behind closed doors but also limiting the number of media and team personnel at the race.
“We will try to reduce participants from teams and suppliers as much as possible,” Marko explained. “This increases the chances that it may be signed off.
“But clearly, all of this can only be done within the [Austrian] safety regulations. They will still be in force at the time.
“We are working hard to ensure that all this goes hand in hand. I see [that the] chances are good.”
He is, however, hoping to add a few support races to the TV-only line-up.
“Formula 2, Formula 3 and Porsche Supercup should be part of it,” he said. “This is a message to the sport.
“I don’t know whether TV will miss background stories that will not be possible due to the strict regulations, but maybe we can broadcast support races instead of them.”
