F1 Talk: The Consequences of Coronavirus Limbo

Like it or not, the 2020 Formula 1 season has been temporaily suspended after a personnel member from the McLaren Formula 1 team tested positive to coronavirus in the paddock in Melbourne on Thursday.

Since then, the Australian, Bahrain and inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix have been postponded with the proposed date for the Chinese GP had already been postponded due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now the dust has settled after what was a very confusing time for F1 fans, media and team personnel, it is clear that in line with what is happening around the rest of the world, the F1 season has been put on hold before it has even got going. The next question is when to restart it. As jumping the gun could put not just the F1 circus at risk, but workers from their host country.

Formula 1 faces an impossible task as they will be under pressure from the smaller independent teams such as Williams, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Alpha Tauri to start the season sooner rather than later as every race missed, means one race less where the teams are getting paid. Therefore as F1 is on standby, one of the questions going forward will be whether these small independent outfits can keep themselves afloat if they are not getting paid from the venues.

Speaking of Alpha Tauri, the team, along with Ferrari, have haulted operations in Italy due the country’s shut down. Meanwhile the delay policy currently enacted by the UK will give a development advantage to their British-based rivals. Mercedes and Red Bull both have operations in the UK, with Williams and McLaren (whose withdrawal of the Australian GP started the situation on Thursday) all able to work on their car before the inevitable first race. Or, at the very least, work more on their 2021 prototypes during the downtime.

So far, only two individuals associated with F1 have tested positive for COVID-19. That being the McLaren team member that led to the teams withdrawal from the Australian GP and a Pirelli employee, who “is now following all the relevant procedures put in place by the Australian health authorities”.

But there was backlash from the global motorsport community as to how the decision was handled by the so-called pinnacle of motorsport in contrast to the very clear direction issued by Formula E in suspending season six of the all-electric racing series until the situation improves.

In fairness, F1 is a more complex case with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, the FIA in Europe and the Formula 1 Management headed by Chase Carey who was flying from Vietnam at the time had to form some sort of consensus as the situation was rapidly changing. However, the weekend’s events have hardly seen F1 set the standard…

In a joint statement from Formula 1, the FIA, the race organisers and the relevant governments involved, said: “Following the announcement of the Australian Grand Prix’s cancellation this week and the ongoing and fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally, Formula 1, the FIA and the promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains our primary concern.”

“Formula 1 and the FIA continue to work closely with the race promoters in Bahrain and Vietnam and the local health authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve.

“As a result, Formula 1 and the FIA expect to begin the Championship in Europe at the end of May but given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe in recent days, this will be regularly reviewed.”

This will mean that as well as the first four races in Asia, the returning Dutch GP at Zandvoort (1-3 May) and the Spanish GP at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (8-10 May) are both likely to be postponed or cancelled.

Formula 1 and the FIA are therefore looking to hold the inaugural race of 2020 around the principality of Monaco on Sunday May 24 with only two confirmed cases so far in the principality. Though a report by Autosport suggest it could be as late as Azerbaijan in early June.

But more crucial as to when to resume the season is the global picture of the virus as Formula 1 is one of the most global sports with the teams, drivers and fans crossing the globe in order to go Grand Prix racing which means that everytime the circus is in town, it sees a huge amalgmation of global personalities in one place at the same time.

There has already been talk of scrapping the summer break in order to fit in missed Grand Prix’s. A fly away to China may be on the cards, but a summer date would likely be ill-approved for Australia, Bahrain or Vietnam. Alternatively, the teams stay in Europe and travel to Spain and the Netherlands.

Running the season into December may not be enough to fit in all the Grand Prix’s and with no summer break could simply put more strain on 2021 development. But of course, with less points and prize money available, smaller teams will likely have to make some astute financial decisions in the quite open 2021 driver’s market. Money, rather than talent will likely drive the line-up for next year.

After the extraordinary events in Melbourne, all F1 can do like the rest of the world is watch and wait as all the teams and drivers return to base and hope that this global pandemic calms down sooner rather than later.