A McLaren employee’s Covid 19 infection stopped the entire Formula One three and a half months ago. Also because the McLaren management acted quickly and the team immediately withdrew for security reasons, the season started in March. In any case, the world association Fia and organizers had no choice but to cancel the first race in Australia.
The corona virus still exists, but the situation has calmed down in recent months. Especially in Europe, also a reason why the first race no longer takes place in Melbourne, but this Sunday in Austria (3.10 p.m. / live ticker SPIEGEL.de; TV: RTL and Sky). Thanks to a 73-page security concept developed by the Fia in collaboration with rights holder Liberty Media, things can now continue.
An important point in the hygiene concept: considerably fewer staff than usual. A total of 80 employees per team are allowed to work on the track, 60 of them on the cars. The main savings were made in marketing, PR and hospitality – areas that are of course important, but not for classic racing. The core business of Formula 1 in corona times is pure motorsport. The new season starts with three races in three weeks, two of which will be driven in Austria, the third follows on July 19 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. (Read more about the racing calendar here).
Testing for security
For those involved, this is an enormous logistical effort, especially for security reasons. “In the four weeks before the race, we isolated all employees coming to the track from the rest of the workforce in our plant in Woking in order to minimize the risk of infection,” explains the German McLaren team manager Andreas Seidl.
Shortly before arriving in Austria, everyone had to undergo a corona test, then the entire team – including the two McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz jr. – in your own charter plane almost directly to the route; The Zeltweg military airport is only three kilometers from the Red Bull Ring. There was another Covid-19 smear followed by another test at least every five days. In the event of suspicion, tests would be carried out immediately and results should be available within a few hours.
For the time being, each team lives in its own bubble, shielded and isolated, in a selected hotel. No contact to employees of other teams is allowed on the course, even contact within the teams is minimized as much as possible. Depending on their area of responsibility, mechanics are divided into their own isolated group. “In an emergency, a complete small group could then be exchanged,” says Seidl, who means a corona outbreak within the team.
Out of the car, mouthguard on
Theoretically, the number of approved mechanics is sufficient to act almost as under normal conditions. In order to be able to comply with the distance rules, not all mechanics are allowed to work on the car at the same time. This could result in delays. “It takes maybe five hours to change the engine instead of two,” says Racing Point team manager Andy Green. Seidl does not want to commit himself to such precise figures: “Only practice will show that. But of course a lot will go slower,” he says.
All mechanics also have to wear mouth and nose protection in the pit lane, just like the drivers when they get out of the car and take off their helmets: “When it gets hot, it is anything but easy full concentration is necessary so that no mistakes happen, “says Seidl:” We will allow our people to take additional breaks so that they can go out and take a deep breath. “
The Formula 1 season will be very different than ever.
