Team principal Mattia Binotto insists Ferrari are amenable to any schedule that is proposed by Formula One bosses as they seek to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the season.

Nine grand prix have so far have been postponed or cancelled because of the pandemic, leading many to speculate that the F1 calendar will be rejigged to potentially include double-race weekends.

With the season on hold until the end of June at the earliest, F1, the FIA and the teams are in regular contact to discuss when, where and how the campaign can start, and Binotto says Ferrari are open to suggestions.

Th F1 season has been delayed until the end of June at the earliest (David Davies/PA)
Th F1 season has been delayed until the end of June at the earliest (David Davies/PA)

“I’m pretty sure Chase (Carey, F1 chairman) and the teams will be capable of putting together the best championship we can have,” the Ferrari chief told Sky Sports.

“From our side, we are ready for whatever is needed whether short race weekends, double races, whenever it will finish or packing the races together.

“It is important to be flexible and making sure we can have good races as well for the fans.”

McLaren became the first F1 team to furlough staff on Wednesday, with remaining employees, including drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, taking a wage cut.

But the Woking-based team’s chief says more changes are required to help the sport through these uncharted waters, including a considerable reduction to the 175million US dollars (£143million) budget cap due to come into force in 2021.

Speaking on F1 and the finances, Binotto said: “Certainly it is a concern. We are fully aware of the difficulties of some teams and we are fully aware we need to address costs for the future of F1 – reducing costs is the first driver of making sure each single team is surviving.

“We are discussing a budget-cap reduction but we should not forget in doing that exercise that we’ve got different structures and different assets.

“There are teams which are constructors like Ferrari and other top teams where we are designing, developing, homologating and producing each single component. I think we should avoid being emotional at the moment.”