Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn has warned the 12-car limit to hold championship races is only advisory.

Per the regulations, it states that an event MAY only be cancelled if the number of cars entered drops below 12, as was the case in Australia when only five teams wanted to proceed as normal.

But as the infamous six-car race at Indianapolis in 2005 showed, and Brawn acknowledged...

“We need 12 cars or more to hold a championship race although that, actually, is at the discretion of the FIA,” he told Sky Sports.

“They could choose, in unusual circumstances, to allow less than that, but 12 cars is what’s written there.”

These comments from Brawn contradict his initial position that no F1 championship races would take place if just one team was denied entry to a race-holding country.

But as the 2020 calendar continues to be decimated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, pressure could grow to proceed with some lower risk Grand Prix's, potentially leaving it upto teams to decide if they make the journey.

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Meanwhile, in the face of criticism for the late decision to call off Australia, Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who was in favour of proceeding with Friday practice, has defended F1 bosses.

“I think it’s a very difficult one because it was such a moving target,” he told Motorsport. “When we came there was nobody that had tested positive.

“We’ve had one positive case, and obviously the decision has been made not to race. It’s difficult to criticise. It’s something that is such a moving target."

As for the decision to travel to Australia in the first place, Horner added: “If the [McLaren] guy that tested positive before, then we wouldn’t come and then obviously we’d have all been saved a trip.

“It’s a shame, but at the end of the day, you have to put the health and well-being of the fans, the spectators, the team members, and the public first."