Formula One organisers are planning to start the season in Austria in July after France became the latest country to postpone its race.

F1 boss Chase Carey plans to start its delayed season in Austria over the July 3-5 weekend without spectators before ending in Abu Dhabi in December.

The French Grand Prix at Le Castellet in June was cancelled on Monday, becoming the 10th race to be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was not a major surprise because of the country's ban on major events until mid-July.

In a statement Carey said:"We are now increasingly confident with the progress of our plans to begin our season this summer.

"We’re targeting a start to racing in Europe through July, August and (the) beginning of September.

"September, October and November would see us race in Eurasia, Asia and the Americas, finishing the season in the Gulf in December with Bahrain before the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi, having completed between 15-18 races.

"We will publish our finalised calendar as soon as we possibly can.

"We expect the early races to be without fans but hope fans will be part of our events as we move further into the schedule.

"We still have to work out many issues like the procedures for the teams and our other partners to enter and operate in each country.

"The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority one and we will only go forward if we are confident we have reliable procedures to address both risks and possible issues.

"All of our plans are obviously subject to change as we still have many issues to address and all of us are subject to the unknowns of the virus."

Meanwhile, Silverstone has said the British Grand Prix cannot be held with spectators but organisers are in talks with the UK government about holding the race behind closed doors in July.