Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says the series must expect someone will test positive for Covid-19 eventually, and be prepared to minimise the risk of further infection.
As of yesterday, over 8,500 Covid-19 tests had been conducted since the championship began in Austria last week, all of which have been negative. However Brawn says the sport cannot become complacent about the risk someone could contract the infection.Ferrari and Red Bull have been warned after some team members failing to adhere to F1’s Covid-19 protocols, including Charles Leclerc, who flew back to Monaco in between races and was photographed at an event.
“We will get a positive at some stage,” Brawn told F1’s website. “But we hope then we can control it and we can minimise the risk.
“My wife, Jean, was quite concerned about me coming here, and I said this should be the safest place for me to ever be. And that was the objective. Touch wood, we’ve been okay so far, but we can’t get complacent. Massive effort compliments to everyone, particularly the promoters here, they’ve been great.”
After this weekend’s race Formula 1 is due to head to Hungary for its third race weekend. Brawn said the championship must have a spotless reputation for minimising the risk of spreading Covid-19.
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“We need to make sure that Formula 1 being an international sport moving around the world, we don’t become a sport that takes Covid into a country,” he said. “We’ve got to be someone who countries can totally rely on being a safe activity to have.”
The championship was forced to call off its season-opening race in Australia after a McLaren team member tested positive for Covid-19. That led to the postponement or cancellation of its first 10 races, and the creation of special procedures to hold races behind closed doors.
“When we when we had the shock of Melbourne and we came back we kind of had to recover from that,” said Brawn. “But then started to think about what could we do to to start racing again.
“I think motor racing, as you know, is very good logistics. It’s very good at organising itself, plan A, plan B, plan C is our bread and butter. That’s what we do all the time.
“So with the FIA, with Formula 1, with the promoters, with the teams, we started regular meetings to work out a plan and how we could go back racing and the concept of the biosphere, the big bubble and then every team is split down into small bubbles.”
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PaulK (@paulk)
11th July 2020, 13:20
That reputation has already been tarnish this week I’m afraid…
erikje
11th July 2020, 13:24
And Bottas flew to Monaco to.. but what was the Red Bull “incident”?
minnis (@minnis)
11th July 2020, 13:33
@erikje Vettel was seen talking to Christian Horner without a face mask.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
12th July 2020, 13:25
@minnis Sky also showed Vettel talking to Dietrich Mateschitz this morning although both were wearing face masks, Didn’t look like they were 2m apart though.
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
12th July 2020, 0:07
Yes it’s inevitable, a matter of when not if, and going by the disease patterns, the whole world will eventually get infected. As I said,it’s when not if. I think it’s high time we start thinking of how to live with it,while carrying on with our daily activities as usual, otherwise lockdowns and movement restrictions only slow the infection rate, which eventually will get to everyone, not unless someone is self sufficient where he/ she is.