British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged the government to work with UK health authorities and help ensure the doubleheader planned at Silverstone can take place.
A mandated 14-day self-isolation period for all arrivals into the UK is due to be enforced on June 8, with exemptions provided for essential services.
However, athletes and sporting competitions including Formula 1 have not been granted exclusion from the quarantine despite ongoing work to get the world championship up and running.
Silverstone was set to stage a pair of races in late July and early August to form the third and fourth rounds of a revised calendar following on from a doubleheader in Austria slated to be held in two months.
But reports are now developing that Johnson has charged UK culture secretary Oliver Dowland to “make Formula 1 happen.” Several sources have said that the matter was even negotiated in a cabinet meeting last week.
The move from the British government to give the event the green light would also kick start the country’s motorsport industry which is home to seven of the ten F1 teams.
The rules of the nationwide quarantine period are set to be reviewed and amended on June 29 which could still allow time for Silverstone to keep its doubleheader slot on the calendar.
However, should the event be compelled to shift dates circuit boss Stuart Pringle has confirmed that the venue is not closing its door on the opportunity to further push back the race until as late as August.
“We’ve got more space than I’d ideally like in the calendar because we’ve had a lot of bookings drop in and out with people unable to plan,” Pringle told Sky Sports. “And of course there is a knock-on effect all the down through national motorsport and down to club level.
“So actually, I have a lot of flexibility in the calendar, of course we have original dates that we’ve been holding and been talking around in mid-to-late July, but we’ve got a degree of flexibility through August as well.
“So, I don’t think finding a date for Formula 1 is going to be a problem or even two dates. What we need is the green light from the government and that will take time.”
Both Hungary and Germany have been touted as likely replacements for Silverstone on the July/August dates while the calendar remains set to begin with races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on July 5 and 12.
