Formula One have announced that they are bringing forward their annual mandatory summer shutdown period and extending it to three weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
F1 teams are obliged every year to cease activities during a two-week mid-season shutdown in August, though that has now been moved to March and April and will run for 21 days as teams look to save money with the start of the season delayed due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
In a statement, the FIA said the decision was supported "unanimously by both the F1 Strategy Group and F1 Commission".
They said: "In light of the global impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus currently affecting the organisation of FIA Formula One World Championship events, the World Motor Sport Council has approved a change to the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, moving the summer shutdown period from July and August to March and April and extending it from 14 to 21 days.
"All competitors must therefore observe a shutdown period of 21 consecutive days during the months of March and/or April."
The change also appears to offer Formula One more flexibility and room to maneouvre in terms of the hugely difficult task of attempting to reschedule races across the globe.
The 2020 season looked set to get underway as planned in Melbourne last week, only for the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix to eventually be postponed after a McLaren team member tested positive for coronavirus and Mercedes later requested the cancellation of the race.
The Bahrain - initially slated to be held without fans - and inaugural Vietnam Grands Prix were also subsequently postponed, while races in the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco are also expected to be moved with the start of the F1 season potentially delayed until June at the earliest.
In a statement last week, Formula One and the FIA said they expect to begin the Championship in Europe at the end of May, but that "given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe in recent days, this will be regularly reviewed."
