Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc believes a shortened 2020 Formula 1 season woul❀d encourage drivers to take greater risks to enhance their championship chances.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the opening 10 🔯races of 2020 being postponed or cancelled, with F1 bosses currently putting togeth🔯er plans to start the season in early July with a behind closed doors Austrian Grand Prix.

ဣF1 is still hopꦚing to stage up to 19 grands prix but only needs to hold eight races to validate a world championship.

In the event of a shortened season with fewer races, Leclerc reckons drivers would likely to take more risks which he say꧑s could cause “some surprises.”

“With less and less races pe💧ople will want to ta🦹ke more risks,” Leclerc said.

“So we might have s🦄ome surprises and it will be exciting to watch.

“I am sure Mercedes and Lewis [Hamilton] are still the favourites, even in an eight-race championship, but probably we will all risk🅰 a bit more on track - risky strategies, risky overtakes.”

EDITOR'S PICKS: The implications of a shortened F1 world championship

Lecler𝔉c anticipates it will be difficult for drivers to find rhythm once the season does resume due to a prolonged break without racing.

“It is going to be difficult,” he explained.

“The 𝄹mindset, to find the bubble you need to be in just before getting into the car, this is something that once you don’t do it for a long time it is difficult to🧜 get back to this state.”

Renault's Esteban Ocon sai൲d a greater emphasis would be placed 🔥on reliability as there will be "no places to DNF" in a shorter world championship campaign. 

“There’s not going to be any j🐷oker [to play],” he told Sky Sport♐s News.

“There’s no places to DNF. It’s going to very important to finish all the races, score all the points available, and get it to the finish𝐆.”