Formula One is counting its blessings as it prepares for a triple-header of races in the Middle East to end a 2020 season some had feared would be stalled at the start by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 17-race championship, cobbled together in place of what would have been a record 21-round schedule, is the slimmest since 2009 but a more than respectable effort in the circumstances.

“We are pretty lucky to have had a season at all,” Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner told reporters on Thursday ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“It’s a blessing that it ends, but it’s also a blessing that we had something to do this year.

“We kept the sport going… I wouldn’t say a good year, but it wasn’t a bad year. It could have been a lot worse. I think it was a great job …”

Back in March, after the scheduled Australian season-opener in Melbourne was cancelled due to the virus, former supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he would have declared ‘game over’ and focused on 2021.

The season eventually got going in July, with teams operating in isolated ‘bubbles’ and working around lockdowns and travel restrictions through charter flights and COVID tests every five days.

In September Formula One’s managing director for motorsport Ross Brawn celebrated the completion of eight races – enough to declare a valid world championship.

The titles have been won by Mercedes and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton but the remaining races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are still vital for teams who need every penny of revenue.

Formula One’s revenues have taken a huge hit but the sport, which is planning for a record 23 races next year and the return of crowds, says viewership has risen.