The 2020 F1 season will be launched on RDS and RDS Direct this weekend with the Austrian Grand Prix. Qualifications will be presented at 8:45 a.m. Saturday and the race at 8:30 a.m.
PARIS, France -Since the chaotic cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix in March after the discovery of a case of coronavirus, Formula 1 has radically changed course, and it is in almost military order that the paddock s is about to meet again this weekend in Austria.
When the F1 meet on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Sunday, without audience and with reduced numbers, the field will be subject to a strict health protocol and “code of conduct” with regular tests, temperature controls, limited interactions, wearing a mask, physical distance, contact tracing, etc.
“We want to prevent any infection from those present,” said Adam Baker, director of safety for the International Automobile Federation (FIA). “We also want to avoid quarantining people for suspected positive cases when they are in fact negative. And just as importantly, we want to avoid harm to the wider community. ”
This meticulous organization contrasts with the wanderings three and a half months ago in Melbourne, for what should have been the inaugural Grand Prix of the season. This “shows how we were not prepared in Australia”, also recognized Cyril Abiteboul, the manager of the Renault team.
“As if everything was normal”
Because in March, when sporting competitions around the world were suspended one after the other and that the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for April had already been postponed, the obstinacy of F1 to maintain the race and the presence in Australia of ten stables, their twenty pilots and hundreds of employees had caused the discomfort.
“I am very, very surprised that we are here,” said Lewis Hamilton. “I see people going about their business as if everything is normal but it is not,” said the six-time world champion, as the pandemic spread.
A few hours before the first free practice, as spectators began to arrive on the circuit, the organizers had finally had to resolve to cancel, after a night of discussions, following the discovery of a positive case within the stable McLaren.
Since this sudden stop, the start line for the 2020 season has only retreated.
The same day, two other Grands Prix, from Bahrain and Vietnam, were postponed. On March 19, the GPs of the Netherlands (since canceled) and Spain were in turn, while that of Monaco was deleted, the organizers admitting that the situation was no longer “manageable”.
Between April and June, F1 recorded the postponement of Canada, then the cancellation of France, Azerbaijan, Japan and Singapore.
To cushion the financial cost of this crisis, the top category in motorsport has temporarily closed its factories, lowered the budget ceiling imposed on stables from 2021 and postponed by a year, to 2022, the arrival of a new generation single-seaters.
“Examine each scenario”
And it was finally at the end of April, when the pandemic seemed to weaken in Europe, that the horizon became clearer, when F1 announced a possible recovery in Austria in early July.
After lengthy discussions, the Austrian authorities officially gave the green light on May 30, before the FIA ratified the decision on June 19.
Despite this cascade of cancellations, the promoter Formula One is targeting between 15 and 18 rounds, compared to 22 initially, by the end of 2020.
“The situation is different around the world and I think that the fact that we were ready to accept races without an audience early in the season gave us more possibilities,” said Ross Brawn, the F1 sports director.
Seven other events are planned in Europe during the summer. For the rest, Formula One has not yet formalized anything but hopes to take teams and drivers to Asia and the Americas, before finishing in the Middle East in mid-December. The option of an extension on the Old Continent is also on the carpet.
“We have to look at each scenario and develop all of our ideas in advance, like the teams who plan their strategies weeks before in the factory, and we will learn from each race,” added Brawn. “This is the nature of F1. Very military in its approach. ”
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