The quality F1 has lacked that it needs most in this crisis

Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures - and most of the world certainly knows that to be true in these difficult times of a deadly disease, healthcare crises and social lockdowns.

In the sporting world, steps are being taken that haven't been used since the Second World War - with events, such as Wimbledon and The Open, called off entirely in 2020. The modern Olympic Games has never been postponed, but the Tokyo summer Games is now set to take place in 2021 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Formula 1 is already taking its own unprecedented steps in response to the coronavirus pandemic, such as moving to make the 2020 cars usable in 2021 and delaying the much vaunted rules reset to 2022.

But each day of this crisis brings more worry and strain - particularly when it comes to costs. If F1 is going to return to a recognisable state, then it needs to display a trait that has long been hard to find when it comes to making big decisions: flexibility.

For so long the championship has been lumbered by its governance structure. In few other sports do the participants have an active say in the sporting rules and the prizes on offer. Sure, many take on board the views and preferences of their competitors, but they still must play to the rules that are set above them.

It's this bizarre way of doing things that has contributed to F1's performance imbalance over the past decade.

The top three teams could move clear using the better constructors' championship bonus payments they negotiated with Bernie Ecclestone for the current Concorde Agreement, and then stay clear by picking up the bigger prize money on offer for the higher standings spots each year.

But when looking back at recent times, to a certain extent the individual teams are not to blame for voting in their own self-interest, simply because the system allowed it. This has led to F1 damaging itself, and in some cases causing outright embarrassment.

Ross Brawn summed things up when he discussed how F1 was looking at stopping teams exploiting loopholes in the (now-delayed) new rules package, where a new voting process comprising 10 votes each for the teams, F1 and the FIA, was proposed. This is aimed at creating majority (25 votes) and super-majority (28 votes) decisions.

Now steps that in the past would have been unthinkable are already being taken, such as FIA president Jean Todt being given extraordinary powers to take urgent decisions

"We're [trying to move] away from this unanimity which has always blocked anything happening," said Brawn.

"One team could block anything happening in F1, which has been counterproductive, overall. So, we're just moving away from that rigid locked-in situation that we have now, where things can't change even when they're wrong.

"We had the qualifying fiasco a couple of years ago [the elimination qualifying at the start of the 2016 season, pictured below]. That couldn't change then because not everyone agreed to change it. And it hung on for ages before finally common sense prevailed and it got put back. So, we're trying to avoid those situations.

"When you look at developing F1, it's not just the set of technical regulations. It's the financial regulations, the governance, it's even the sporting regulations that are trying to make the sport greater while still maintaining a meritocracy and integrity.

"And so you ask yourself, 'is this a sport that we want people to win by loopholes?' Or do we want a sport where we want people to win by a meritocracy because they've done a better job? Now, I agree, you can debate the margins between the two. I don't deny that. But that's still better than 'find the loophole, and you're going to benefit 12 months and the sport suffers'."

As well as the discussions on altering F1's governance structure, the championship was making progress on the cost cap, which for so long had not been a real possibility. Of course, the $175million cap still had wiggle room for the big teams to spend more, but it was at least movement. But now F1 must be even more flexible.

This week, McLaren CEO Zak Brown warned that he "could see four teams disappearing" if the coronavirus crisis "isn't handled the right way". The delayed and shortened 2020 calendar hits F1's prize fund, on which all stakeholders (other than the FIA) depend, and it potentially impacts the teams' sponsorship money.

Now steps that in the past would have been unthinkable are already being taken, such as FIA president Jean Todt being given extraordinary powers to take urgent decisions "in connection with the organisation of international competitions for the 2020 season" - per a World Motor Sport Council statement.

When it comes to examples from the teams, Mercedes has already demonstrated a degree of flexibility by agreeing to its dual-axis steering being banned for 2021, even though the W11 car it was designed for will still basically be in service. Ferrari agreed to the 2020-21 car continuation despite its apparent performance deficit to Mercedes and Red Bull with the SF1000.

But in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic shock to come, it is the process of getting a 2020 calendar where F1's stakeholders need to show the most flexibility.

In order to hold the maximum number of races - remembering that sponsors and TV companies have paid for a product, which arguably isn't there if only a handful of races can take place, and more races mean more fees going into F1's prize pot - ideas previously thought unlikely must be embraced.

If global travel restrictions can be eased in the coming months, then F1 must be prepared to condense events to get in and out of countries as quickly and safely as possible. Multiple races at venues should not be ruled out because of self-interest or conflicts.

F1 stakeholders must work together to make the best of what is a truly terrible situation

Even the wild thinking of reversing layouts - as has been much discussed in relation to Silverstone this week - should not be automatically ruled out if such steps would help. A superseason into 2021 should definitely be an option.

"Each day we have more news, new concerns," Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur said earlier this week. "The most important thing is to be flexible and to work as a group. And that was not always the first asset of Formula 1!"

So, this is an appeal to all F1 stakeholders - the championship, the FIA, teams, promoters, circuits, sponsors, rights holders, anyone. Work together to make the best of what is a truly terrible situation.

The fight to overcome COVID-19 is one tremendous challenge, and motorsport is playing its part, but the battle to beat the economic consequences will be another challenge entirely.

The warnings are there - they must be heeded.