COVID-19 could affect more races this year.

[izzy]

Ok, look at it from the personnel issue - lock up teams in hotels for three weeks at a time just so we can watch some cars drive round a track.

That's not humane, really, is it?

They need either to be able to move around or they don't go at all.

In the case of Silverstone there's a resort hotel 1km away and a golf course in between that are both closed atm and can be taken over. The circuit is a gorgeous country park. 3 weeks on, one week off, what's not to like before you even get to doing F1?

It's not quite perfect or easy of course, but with a bit of determination it's pretty doable I'd say

[nzjrs]

Ok, look at it from the personnel issue - lock up teams in hotels for three weeks at a time just so we can watch some cars drive round a track.

That's not humane, really, is it?

They need either to be able to move around or they don't go at all.

In the case of Silverstone there's a resort hotel 1km away and a golf course in between that are both closed atm and can be taken over. The circuit is a gorgeous country park. 3 weeks on, one week off, what's not to like before you even get to doing F1?

It's not quite perfect or easy of course, but with a bit of determination it's pretty doable I'd say

3 weeks away from one's wife (statistically), children and parents in the middle of a pandemic vs. 80% pay on furlough.

I don't think many staff would do that. I wouldnt.

[Just_a_fan]

Ok, look at it from the personnel issue - lock up teams in hotels for three weeks at a time just so we can watch some cars drive round a track.

That's not humane, really, is it?

They need either to be able to move around or they don't go at all.

In the case of Silverstone there's a resort hotel 1km away and a golf course in between that are both closed atm and can be taken over. The circuit is a gorgeous country park. 3 weeks on, one week off, what's not to like before you even get to doing F1?

It's not quite perfect or easy of course, but with a bit of determination it's pretty doable I'd say

You should ask the teams' staff what they think of that situation. Even golf players won't want to play golf all day, every day. Those that don't play golf do what?

The simple fact is that the proposal is effectively a lockdown at work. Would you like that? Would you like to spend 3 weeks, 24/7, with your work colleagues?

[izzy]

3 weeks away from one's wife (statistically), children and parents in the middle of a pandemic vs. 80% pay on furlough.

I don't think many staff would do that. I wouldnt.

Well f1 people do weeks away already don't they. They only need 400-600 who are fed up at home and or are nuts about f1, it doesn't have to suit everybody

Plus it's so few people Liberty can just pay them whatever it takes. Personally I'd just say South of France and a swimming pool, where do i sign

[Big Tea]

Apart from the F1 Teams and FOM/FIA personnel needed for a race there’s also the track marshals, typically local and volunteers. One might imagine that FOM would need to create a pool of semi-permanent staff to perform those duties subject to the same lockdown rigours as the team. And there are others, camera crew, help pilots ( maybe optional) people looking after food and hygiene etc.

But the most difficult issue is likely to be medical staff. When, eventually, a nation reduces the need for medical interventions to some manageable level there will be a whole medical service exhausted by months of toil. I’m not sure they’d be anxious to provide cover.

A more likely approach will involve rigorous contact tracing and until that is feasible I don’t think we’ll see races even behind closed doors.

Very good point. I recall a race start being delayed because the medical helo could not take off in fog. It seems there are rules about being able to get a driver to a unit above a set spec in a set time, and it is doubtful if these can be guaranteed if the hospital is anywhere close to its limits

[NL_Fer]

Silverstone makes the only sense if they are going for a "lock us away and we'll do a load of races at one track" approach. More than half of the grid is already in the UK. Anywhere else requires the majority (if they race in Italy) / all (if they race anywhere else) of the teams to change countries.

I don’t think t lock them up at a single track. But you could isolate them for every 3 races, only to be allowed on the track or in the hotel, with dedicated transport. Local staff has to leave the track or hotel when the F1 crew arrives.

But what do we do with the drivers? Normaly they go home between races. It would be better to keep them within the F1 crew and take their training equipment with them.

Ok, look at it from the personnel issue - lock up teams in hotels for three weeks at a time just so we can watch some cars drive round a track.

That's not humane, really, is it?

They need either to be able to move around or they don't go at all.

Crew has to work for most of the week already. Maybe 1 or 2 days off between races. Christmas and summer break is their only vacation for the whole year. That is the life of being with F1.

Also people living in offshore have the same life, 3 weeks work, 3 weeks off.

There is allot of money involved. More than just us watching races,

[izzy]

You should ask the teams' staff what they think of that situation. Even golf players won't want to play golf all day, every day. Those that don't play golf do what?

The simple fact is that the proposal is effectively a lockdown at work. Would you like that? Would you like to spend 3 weeks, 24/7, with your work colleagues?

You don't have to play golf on a golf course. Not everyone even has a garden, lockdown must be awful for them. Instead they could hang with their mates in hundreds of grassy acres, in between doing F1. Easy sell!

[Big Tea]

The down side of this is that when they are all locked away, if someone shows positive for it, everyone gets thumped. There would have to be two complete squads including drivers

[izzy]

The down side of this is that when they are all locked away, if someone shows positive for it, everyone gets thumped. There would have to be two complete squads including drivers

Yes this is basically what Ross said isn't it, they have to be clean, tested and quarantined and only then locked down. So it needs a month or something to set it up, and even then it might go wrong

So it needs a positive attitude to create a chance not a slam dunk certainty

[Big Tea]

The down side of this is that when they are all locked away, if someone shows positive for it, everyone gets thumped. There would have to be two complete squads including drivers

Yes this is basically what Ross said isn't it, they have to be clean, tested and quarantined and only then locked down. So it needs a month or something to set it up, and even then it might go wrong

So it needs a positive attitude to create a chance not a slam dunk certainty

It will be almost impossible to stop them touching anything from outside the confines, including food containers cloths, new or refurbished parts, anything that will not keep in storage for a month. Even then there is always a chance encounter with a passing bug.

[nzjrs]

I don’t think t lock them up at a single track. But you could isolate them for every 3 races, only to be allowed on the track or in the hotel, with dedicated transport. Local staff has to leave the track or hotel when the F1 crew arrives.

But what do we do with the drivers? Normaly they go home between races. It would be better to keep them within the F1 crew and take their training equipment with them.

Ok, look at it from the personnel issue - lock up teams in hotels for three weeks at a time just so we can watch some cars drive round a track.

That's not humane, really, is it?

They need either to be able to move around or they don't go at all.

Crew has to work for most of the week already. Maybe 1 or 2 days off between races. Christmas and summer break is their only vacation for the whole year. That is the life of being with F1.

Also people living in offshore have the same life, 3 weeks work, 3 weeks off.

There is allot of money involved. More than just us watching races,

There is a difference in one's enjoyment of something when doing it freely, and when being forced to do it (and yes maybe they aren't forced to work, but if they or someone around them gets sick, then they are forced to spend an additional 2 weeks locked away from their families)

I honestly doubt many of the people here cheering for F1 employees to do this for our entertainment would willingly do it themselves.

We read articles every year about the F1 circus breaking up families and burning people out and now we ask for more?

[izzy]

It will be almost impossible to stop them touching anything from outside the confines, including food containers cloths, new or refurbished parts, anything that will not keep in storage for a month. Even then there is always a chance encounter with a passing bug.

Yes the risk can't be zero, but it can't be zero if they don't do anything. It's all a balance of risks. We go out shopping for food, get deliveries, it's all risk and there are risks with not doing F1 like losing teams and jobs

And lockdown will have to be wound down before there's a vaccine, it's just a stalling thing really

So it could be they're actually safer in an f1 group lockdown. Plus they're generally young and fit, and it's a premise anyway in motor racing that there's more to life than avoiding risk

[Just_a_fan]

I honestly doubt many of the people here cheering for F1 employees to do this for our entertainment would willingly do it themselves.

We read articles every year about the F1 circus breaking up families and burning people out and now we ask for more?

Exactly. It's selfish, basically.

[Big Tea]

It will be almost impossible to stop them touching anything from outside the confines, including food containers cloths, new or refurbished parts, anything that will not keep in storage for a month. Even then there is always a chance encounter with a passing bug.

Yes the risk can't be zero, but it can't be zero if they don't do anything. It's all a balance of risks. We go out shopping for food, get deliveries, it's all risk and there are risks with not doing F1 like losing teams and jobs

And lockdown will have to be wound down before there's a vaccine, it's just a stalling thing really

So it could be they're actually safer in an f1 group lockdown. Plus they're generally young and fit, and it's a premise anyway in motor racing that there's more to life than avoiding risk

I mean the 'risk' of a single person getting it and buggering up the complete system more than risk to individuals.

I suppose the most practical way of doing it would be to create a team from people who have already had the virus, then it would 'just' be a matter of them not spreading it.

[izzy]

Exactly. It's selfish, basically.

Seriously. That's a morally bankrupt invention, trying to fake moral superiority to score a winnnn after running out of reasoned argument. If F1 runs it'll be because that's what they do, for a living. People work in an organisation and
participate in what the organisation does. Nobody here has any power over the poor things, any more than we 'ask drivers to risk their lives for our amusement', we should be able to debate the pros and cons of what Ross said without this veiled personal crap