Sebastian Vettel says Formula 1’s world championship titles would not be devalued if the 2020 season ended up being a 10-race affair due to the coronavirus pandemic.
F1 was supposed to be heading into its longest ever campaign, with a record-breaking 22 races put down on the original schedule.
But the coronavirus pandemic has derailed those plans, and F1 is now unsure about how many races it will be able to hold this year.
One idea being considered is to begin the season in Austria in July with a behind closed doors event, with the Red Bull Ring open to the prospect as Austria begins to ease its lockdown measures.
The likelihood of F1 being able to get through the run of 15-18 races F1 CEO Chase Carey had hoped for appears to be unlikely, but even if the championship is reduced to just 10 events, Vettel insists that the eventual title winner would be just as worthy.
Speaking from his home in Switzerland via video conference, Vettel said: “I don’t know how it would feel because we never had that sort of circumstance.
“Before we had less races in the past and more races today, but I don’t think it makes a big difference.
“Obviously a season is a season, whether it’s 10, 15 or 20, 25 races. So you still have to be the one that is most consistent.
“With less races, every race is more important, but the championship would still be the championship.
“So it’s still a long way, and you know, each single race weekend is a long way. And races mean there will still be a lot of things to get right.”
Vettel reckoned, however, that it was too early to start thinking too much about what may happen.
“I think at this stage, nobody really knows what to expect from this year, from this season,” he explained.
“Maybe this season is going into part of next year as well. I don’t know. So, lots of ideas, lots of options, but I think we have to have to be patient and wait.”