WHY THE RETURN OF F1 WILL BE DIFFERENT
When Formula 1 bursts back into action at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend following the four-month hiatus imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be a very different experience for everyone involved. A range of new protocols has been brought in to minimise the chance of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The ‘new normal’ has become a much-used phrase this year, and this is what F1 can expect…
As long as there remains a risk of COVID-19 being transmitted among the general public, no spectators will be allowed in for at least the first phase of the championship. F1 is instead planning fully closed-door events without spectators, guests or sponsors, and dramatic cuts in the number of staff present.
Teams will be operating with reduced personnel (a maximum of 80), while there will be heavy restrictions on media, although Autosport will be present. There will not be any team motorhomes, and the teams will instead construct their own awnings at the back of their garages to give them some more space to work.
All F1 personnel require a negative COVID-19 test before being able to travel. They will also be tested every five days while on the road. A contact track-andtrace app, specifically designed for the close confines of a racing circuit, will be used to better allow organisers to deal with an outbreak and know who any infected team member has been in close contact with.
Team members will not be allowed to mix with other competitors, and have to stay in strict ‘social bubbles’ to ensure they are only in contact with those that are essential for their job. Face masks will be mandatory.
Thanks to social distancing requirements, and the need for team members to wear face masks and other personal protective equipment, some garage jobs are going to take longer than normal. In light of this, teams will be given some extra leeway when it comes to their working hours, with F1’s curfew having been relaxed. Team members can now work one hour later on Thursday and Friday evenings, and the curfew now lasts for eight hours, instead of nine.
F1 needs to be as flexible as possible in order to get a calendar of races put in place, and teams and suppliers are facing some unique challenges because of it. This means that F1’s tyre rules have changed. Previously, teams were allowed to pick how many sets of each type of Pirelli tyre they wanted for a weekend, but now there is a standard allocation – each driver will get two sets of the hard compound, three of the medium, and eight of the soft.
Race officials will be operating in rooms where tables and chairs have been moved further apart to ensure social distancing. It has also been agreed that if any drivers are summoned to see the stewards to discuss a matter, PPE is worn at all times. Drivers’ and officials’ briefings may now take place outside if a suitably large
room cannot be found to hold all those required to attend, or they may be conducted via a video teleconference facility such as Zoom.
THERE’LL BE NO DRIVERS’ PARADE
With no spectators, and the requirement for drivers to maintain social distancing, the regular Sunday morning drivers’ parade will not take place for now. Instead, it is likely that the drivers will be interviewed one by one in front of their garages in that usual Sunday morning slot, so those watching on TV can get some pre-race build-up excitement.
NEW GRID PROCEDURE – OR NO GRID AT ALL
One of the most difficult situations to manage over an F1 weekend is the grid build-up, because it’s the time when the teams are in closest proximity to each other.
To try to minimise the chances of contact, grid procedures have been tweaked to allow for social distancing. Teams are only allowed 40 personnel on the grid, and procedures have been compressed so the pit exit closes 20 minutes before the start rather than 30.
If it is felt that at some venues it’s still too risky to have personnel so close to each other, one solution is to abandon the grid build-up completely and instead start the formation lap from the garages.
NO ‘CHAMPAAAAAAAAAAAAAGNE’
There’ll be no podium ceremony because of social distancing requirements. Instead, there is a plan to have some form of post-race trophy-giving on the grid when the cars return following their slowing-down lap.
JONATHAN NOBLE