agenciesand border control.The list is enormous, as isthe tas k.
The returnto motor sport guide lines issue d by the FI A run to
over 70 pages and cover the processof puttingon a raceevent while
providinga fai r, fun and entertaining competition.This has been
backedup by further work done by the F1 organisation and significant
and valuable input fromthe teams.
It naturally covers thecore transmission mitigation measuressuch
as social distancing, hand hygiene,health checks andtesting, as we ll
ascontacttracing,butwithin thecontextofa mass gatheringsuch asa
race event. While theconcept ofracing ‘behind closeddoors’ removes
the concern overspectator safety,the number of peopleinvolved in
making a race happen is still considerable.
For thefirst events of ourdelayed season
these numbersare s everely limited,with
each team allowed to bring only 80 staff
and every other organisation being asked
to look athow to minimise numbers.
A good exampleof this exists within the
F1 organisation. As part of thedrive toa
low carbonfuture, a programmehad bee n
initiatedto pr oduce more ofthe world
television feed remotely. This can reducethe
number ofstaff attending an event by around
40% but has the added benefit of reducing
the freight weight thatis f lown to eachrace
outsideEurope byaround 40% aswell.
While this was done for sustainability
reasons initially, it has additional benefits
now because the reduction in passenger
aircraft flying, which alsocarry a significantINSIDER
TheFIAhasalwaysputsafetyat the forefront
of everything itdoes in motorsport. This mantra is
embodied inthe International Sporting Code that
all competitors inevery category of racing must
adhereto. Priorto the COVID-19 outbreak it was
always understood thatthis safety referred to the
hazardsof racing,but thecurrentpandemic has
brought a new meaning tothe pr ovisions ofthe
code and requireda co mpletely new approach to
how we return to racing.
In responseto the events of thisyear, the FIA
and F1 have taken extraordinary measuresto
protect motorsport, culminatingin a raft of new
regulationsfor 2020 and beyond which were
passedrecently by the World Motorsport Council.
While these regulations protectedthe financial
viability of the championships and theteams, there
was still aconsiderablebody ofwork to do in the
practicalities of keepingall stakeholderssafe as we
planned thereturn to racing.
The Wo rld HealthOrganisationhas provideda
framework and a suite ofmea sures to mitigatetheeffects of COVID-19, but the understandingofthe
transmission of the virus isa process of learning
and adapting the measures in responseto new
data. TheFIA medical department was able to draw
on this advice to provide comprehensiveguide line s
for all stakeholdersinord er to mitigate risk.
When oneconsiders the breadth ofthe
participants ina moto rsport event, the scaleof
the problembecomesapparent.Itisno t just the
teams thatneed to be consideredbut also the FIA
officials, the commercial rights holder’sstaff, the
promotersand theirstaff a t the venue,the media,
officials, organisers, catering staff,emergency
services, and even bodies suchas governmentalNEW MEASURES
FOR RETURN
TO RACING
PICTURES:MARKSUTTON;ANDYHONE;SHUTTERSTOCK.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE24 F1 RACING JULY 2020
PATSYMONDS
UNDER
THE
HOOD
PICTURES
Australiaseemslikealifetimeagoand
F1willreturntoaverydifferentscenario
fromtheoneitleftbehindinMarchagenciesand border control.The list is enormous, as isthe tas k.
The returnto motor sport guide lines issue d by the FI A run to
over 70 pages and cover the processof puttingon a raceevent while
providinga fai r, fun and entertaining competition.This has been
backedup by further work done by the F1 organisation and significant
and valuable input fromthe teams.
It naturally covers thecore transmission mitigation measuressuch
as social distancing, hand hygiene,health checks andtesting, as we ll
ascontacttracing,butwithin thecontextofa mass gatheringsuch asa
race event. While theconcept ofracing ‘behind closeddoors’ removes
the concern overspectator safety,the number of peopleinvolved in
making a race happen is still considerable.
For thefirst events of ourdelayed season
these numbersare s everely limited,with
each team allowed to bring only 80 staff
and every other organisation being asked
to look athow to minimise numbers.
A good exampleof this exists within the
F1 organisation. As part of thedrive toa
low carbonfuture, a programmehad bee n
initiatedto pr oduce more ofthe world
television feed remotely. This can reducethe
number ofstaff attending an event by around
40% but has the added benefit of reducing
the freight weight thatis f lown to eachrace
outsideEurope byaround 40% aswell.
While this was done for sustainability
reasons initially, it has additional benefits
now because the reduction in passenger
aircraft flying, which alsocarry a significantINSIDER
TheFIAhasalwaysputsafetyat the forefront
of everything itdoes in motorsport. This mantra is
embodied inthe International Sporting Code that
all competitors inevery category of racing must
adhereto. Priorto the COVID-19 outbreak it was
always understood thatthis safety referred to the
hazardsof racing,but thecurrentpandemic has
brought a new meaning tothe pr ovisions ofthe
code and requireda co mpletely new approach to
how we return to racing.
In responseto the events of thisyear, the FIA
and F1 have taken extraordinary measuresto
protect motorsport, culminatingin a raft of new
regulationsfor 2020 and beyond which were
passedrecently by the World Motorsport Council.
While these regulations protectedthe financial
viability of the championships and theteams, there
was still aconsiderablebody ofwork to do in the
practicalities of keepingall stakeholderssafe as we
planned thereturn to racing.
The Wo rld HealthOrganisationhas provideda
framework and a suite ofmea sures to mitigatethe
effects of COVID-19, but the understandingofthe
transmission of the virus isa process of learning
and adapting the measures in responseto new
data. TheFIA medical department was able to draw
on this advice to provide comprehensiveguide line s
for all stakeholdersinord er to mitigate risk.
When oneconsiders the breadth ofthe
participants ina moto rsport event, the scaleof
the problembecomesapparent.Itisno t just the
teams thatneed to be consideredbut also the FIA
officials, the commercial rights holder’sstaff, the
promotersand theirstaff a t the venue,the media,
officials, organisers, catering staff,emergency
services, and even bodies suchas governmentalNEW MEASURES
FOR RETURN
TO RACING
PICTURES:MARKSUTTON;ANDYHONE;SHUTTERSTOCK.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE24 F1 RACING JULY 2020
PATSYMONDS
UNDER
THE
HOOD
PICTURES
Australiaseemslikealifetimeagoand
F1willreturntoaverydifferentscenario
fromtheoneitleftbehindinMarch