Formula 1 has discussed the possibil෴ity of getting the delayed 2020 season underway with the Austrian Grand Prix in July followed by a double-header event at Silverstone.

F1 officials and teams came together in a virtual meeting on Thursday to thrash out the latest plans to get the s🎶eason started after the opening nine races were all postponed or cancelled as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to a , F1’s latest solution is to take advantage of the recent easing of lockdown restrictions in Austria by staging the July 5 race as plan🐻ned but as a closed-door event without spectators.

After starting the season in Austria, F1 could then head to the UK for a run of at least two races at Silverstone, whic✃h is due ༒to hold the British Grand Prix on July 19.

Race organisers have🍌 set an end-of-April deadline to make a final decision over the fate of this year’s British Grand Prix, however circuit bosses say they are willing to be flexible in terms of a date and over how many races it could host.

On Thursday, the UK government announced a three-week extension to its social distancing and lockdown measures, while Aust♔ria has become one of the first European countries to lift some of its res❀trictions. 

The French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard - scheduled for June 28 - is increasi🔯ngly likely to become the 10th race to be affected by the global COVID-19 crisis after Fr꧋ance extended its lockdown and banned mass gatherings until mid-July. 

That has shifted F1’s focus onto Austria becoming the potential season-opener at the Red Bullꦉ-owned Spielberg track.

Earlier this week, Red Bull team principal Chr🔴istian Horner confirmed to Sky Sports that the n🉐otion was being discussed and personally backed the idea.

"The Red Bull Ring is a ready-made facility, it can be ready in a🐈 very short period of time to fit the FIA's criteria," Horner said.

"The prospect of being able to ru♛n a r🦂ace behind closed doors is absolutely feasible.

"It's something that Austria [promoters] and Red Bull are looking at but of course they've got to work with the local authorit🌳ies and governments. And so at the moment i𝔉t's just under discussion.”

Proposals to reduce F1’s budget cap to €130 (£104.6m) by 2022 were also discussed in the meeting on Thursday as the sport🅘 continues to assess ways to lower costs.

While there was no firm agreement on the budget cap, it is undꦍerstood that discussions🔜 were viewed as constructive by all involved.

An aerodynamic handicapping system that would allow teams who finished at the bottom of the championship the most aerodynamic research for the following year and the team who finished🃏 first doing the least was also considered by the teams.

McLaren boss Andreas Seidl warned the ongoing 𓃲coronavirus crisis is the “final wake-up call” for F1 to act and trigger changes to make the sport more sustainabl🐟e ♔and allow teams to survive.

Action has already been taking in a bid to ease the financial strain placed on teams during the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the introduction of major technicalꦯ rules being pushed back by a year until 2022 and teams agreeing to race with the same cars in 2021.

All 10 F1 teams are also currently observing an extended mandatory shutdown period having agreed to bring forward the summer break from its traditional A🌳ugust slot to the spring amid the current hiatus.