There is not much to write about in Formula 1 at the moment, but that does not seem to stop the F1 parasites and scavengers who live off the sport by churning out endless stories about what is wrong and how things are going to go pear-shaped. These stories are used by all kind of publications because it is easier and cheaper than going out and doing the job properly.

But, these bottom-feeders were around years before any other nasty viruses arrived on the scene and will probably survive the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak as well. However, it does mean that there is a general tone of negativity in the F1 media. This was highlighted recently by the reports about the credit rating agency Moody’s changing its outlook about Formula One to negative to reflect the impact of the crisis. If one read the entire Moody’s statement, the underlying message was not negative.

“Formula One has strong liquidity and a sufficiently flexible cost base to manage through a severely curtailed 2020 season, which Moody’s consider would likely be able to support a full cancellation,” it said. “Moody’s considers that Formula One is relatively well placed to recover post coronavirus crisis, underpinned by its contracted revenue nature, strong franchise, large fan base and high cash conversion.”

Bernie Ecclestone’s remarks about cancelling the whole season were widely reported but I’m afraid that I don’t see why it makes any sense. Ecclestone is no longer involved in the sport in anything but name, but he tends to take a pop at Liberty Media as and when it suits him. If that is what turns him on, then so be it, but I don’t see how any good can come of it. Still, he will soon have other far more important things on his mind now he’s about to be a father again, shortly before his 90thbirthday. So, we should all wish him well, although he probably needs to be careful about lifting babies at such an age. And good luck with the school runs when he hits 100…

I know that a lot of people in motor racing don’t have much interest in history because they don’t understand that it can solve current problems and avoid future mistakes, but if you look back in time, you can see that Grand Prix racing survived two World Wars, the first lasting for four years, the second for six. It also survived the horrendous Le Mans disaster in 1955 when a Mercedes sports car crashed and disintegrated into the crown at Le Mans, killing at least 84 people and injuring another 180. There were many changes made after that accident, but the only country to maintain a ban on motorsport was Switzerland.

It is just a month (tomorrow) since I boarded a plane and headed out for Melbourne for the opening race of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The race did not happen and when we left the media centre in Melbourne that Friday we departed with cries of “See you after the summer break”. It was obvious even then that the virus problem was not something that would be solved in a few weeks. Since then, we have seen a total of nine races being postponed or cancelled. It is realistic to suggest that more will follow with France (June 28), Austria (July 5), Great Britain (July 19) and Hungary (August 2) all in the firing line. France is still in the grip of the virus with 1,400 deaths reported yesterday while Austria is one of a number of European countries considering relaxing its quarantine rules, with plans to start reopening some shops, hardware stores and garden centres in the middle of next week, with other stores scheduled to open again at the end of the month. It remains to be seen whether this is reckless or not.

The central European region has wildly differing numbers and policies with Slovakia about to begin a ban on freedom of movement, while Slovenia talking about loosening restrictions. The Czech Republic has just extended a state of emergency until April 30, although the government had wanted to run that through to May 11.In Hungary, the parliament has given Prime Minister Viktor Orban the right to rule by decree indefinitely. There have been restrictions on reporting the virus and official numbers are very low, because very few tests are being done.

Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has warned that if the numbers of people with the virus accelerate when restrictions are lifted, then they will be start again.

Britain is struggling with its Prime Minister Boris Johnson in intensive care and the government expecting a long haul before recovery begins. From a sporting perspective, the All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, scheduled from June 29 to July 12 have been called off for the first time since the war. Culturally, the country has also been hit badly with the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe, the world’s biggest arts festival, scheduled for August, having already been called off. How the British GP can happen against such a background is hard to imagine. It is not just about whether one country is free of the virus. Anything international is complicated. In the circumstances, one can imagine that national championships will be the first thing to revive, which will give fans a fix of racing. Even if travel opens up again, the recession that is coming is going to impact on ticket sales and there is also likely to be a reluctance for people to congregate in large numbers.

There are some positive things coming out of the virus, not last the efforts of some of motorsport companies to help redesigning and manufacturing medical equipment. It will result in rethinking national health services in the future and there will also be more discussion about how things can be done differently and what has been learned during the lock down. It may result in fundamental changes in the way work and travel are viewed.

The impact on travel is perhaps the most interesting topic as people are rapidly learning how to use home-working technology and there is an argument that future infrastructure spending should perhaps be switched from upgrading transportation networks to making sure that every home has sufficient high-speed internet access. There is still a need for people to visit offices, but many are finding that it is more efficient to not waste time commuting. This could lead to permanent changes in working habits. People are beginning to understand that flying or driving to meetings makes little sense. This was a developing trend before the virus came along, but Covid-19 has focussed the business world on what is possible.

How this will impact on different industries remains to be seen, but tourism is likely to reduce in the mid-term with people preferring not to travel too far away from home. If tourism suffers, it is logical to assume that in the longer term some sporting events will also struggle, because they exist primarily to attract visitors. With lower demand, then the fees that different sports can charge will also reduce.

At the moment, some of the English teams are “furloughing” staff. This means that they are being sent home and told not to work. The reason for this is that the government has introduced a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for companies which cannot maintain their current workforce because of Covid-19. The British-based teams can apply for grants that will cover 80 percent of their usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month. This is designed to protect the UK economy and only applies to furloughs. Those who work for reduced pay are not eligible. Teams can also top up their staff salaries in they choose to do so. This means that most of the teams will have the majority of their biggest cost (staff) paid for by the government, which is extremely good news for them. Thus claims that teams might go out of business should be viewed with caution, as there are political agendas involved as teams discuss what budgetary measures should be introduced in the future. The racing may have stopped, but F1 politics is still going on, with all the teams fighting from their own corners.

The virus has given everyone in the sport an opportunity to take a step back and look at F1 and see how it can be done better. It is an ongoing process but let us hope that the decisions that are made are in the best interest of the sport.

The government scheme mentioned is mirrored by others in different countries. The scheme applies to all companies that have PAYE (pay as you earn) status and so it applies to parts suppliers, advertising agencies, promotional businesses, publishing companies and to racing teams in other formulae, in which drivers tend to provide the money for staff salaries. Without races, the drivers (and their sponsors) are unwilling to pay, and thus the teams do not have the funds required to pay their rents, retain their staff and so on. The government money will help but there is still a risk that a lot of small teams will be going out of business, unless they have backers willing to keep them going.

There is no doubt that these are difficult times for the sport, not just for F1 but for pretty much everyone, but it is not the end of Grand Prix racing.

Personally-speaking I am very fortunate. I live in the country and I have a large garden, so I can get out and walk around and there is no shortage of things to do. In fact, I am finding that my days are filled with projects. Without all the travel, my costs are low and having been on the road at this time of year for my entire professional career - which now runs to 37 years - I must say that the break has been quite therapeutic…

Staying at home is the only way that this outbreak can be kept under control. In the interim, we continue to work on things to keep race fans amused in the weeks and months ahead.