THE F1 COVID THREAD: Will GP be cancelled?

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

not the same but dealing with several local business that have just found their business interruption insurance does not cover pandemics.

i had one client tell me that their insurance agent told them that his business would have been better off had he 'caught cancer'!

obviously insurance companies will play their games, but on a contractual level, no one in the world was prepared for disruptions caused by a pandemic. everyday it seems like we find a new area of business that is being affected and we are all just figuring it out as we go along.

I heard Wimbledon was prepared. Had been paying for insurance for years for pandemics or whatnot, and now they getting paid this year. Crazy.

[Adam43]

F1 says there will definitely be 19 races in 2020:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...IEci9lZFi.html

[S griffin]

That article is dated 30th March though

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Spa under threat now as Belgium bans mass gatherings until 31st August.

Has anyone seen any factual information on how these dates are arrived at? Seems like a one-upsmanship to see who can be tougher on "fighting" this virus. Who can pick the next future date to shut everything down to show how serious they are?

Or they're finding just how easy it is to control their subjects....

[Oldtony]

Originally Posted by RWill2073

Or they're finding just how easy it is to control their subjects....

Or are the authorities just working thier butt off trying to keep as much of their population alive as possible.
Quite frankly that is by any means that the more responsible politicians can put into place.
There are certain politicians who see their own positions as elevated by the situation but the vast majority of National and State leaders are doing their best in an unforeseen and unprecedented Pandemic. Some came to the party a bit late, and there are a few who still believe in quackery, but most are doing the best they can based on scientific and medical advice.

Lets cut them some slack and support them in achieving the lowest possible toll on human life.
We can then remember who got things done successfully, and who was grandstanding, when thing get to what will be a very new normal! Most of us at some stage will have a VOTE!
By the way looking back at the AGP cancellation kerfuffle it looked messy at the time but in the end Oz dodged a bullet and is now better placed than most nations.
The problem now is that the cheque books are now putting on the pressure to re-open things at a rate which may undo all the good work done so far.

[Casper]

F1 won't resume in any meaningful form until all the countries that F1 races are held in decide to allow international travel without any restrictions at all. Australia for instance has no plans to lift international travel for the masses until well into next year. Now factor in all the countries have to have their restrictions lifted for a full season but let's say a few do but the UK does not and that is where the majority of the teams are domiciled, if that were to occur then it does not matter how many countries lift their restrictions because the UK restrictions would still be in place.

It can be said that individual countries restrictions that prevent F1 events being held might be lifted but that won't solve the problem until the UK lifts all restrictions, both internal for work purposes & for external travel purposes. Liberty have to talk it up, they have shareholders and other financial commitments that require an optimistic outlook and both RD & CC are the mouth pieces of the company who get paid to toe the company line. As to the question about who sets dates, they will be set to suit each nation by the government.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by Adam43

F1 says there will definitely be 19 races in 2020:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...IEci9lZFi.html

Hi Adam, it doesn't say there will definitely be 19 races, it is the same stuff we have already heard before and in fact since it was written (30th March) both the French GP and Spa are in doubt, Austrian could probably be a closed event only and the BGP is likely to be postponed - that is another 4 races affected in two weeks since that statement, which only goes to prove my point about them making promises and predictions is pointless.


When will the F1 season start?
Given the constantly evolving situation with the pandemic, at the moment it is not possible to say for certain when racing will be able to resume, but F1 CEO Chase Carey said: “While at present no-one can be certain of exactly when the situation will improve, it will improve and when it does, we will be ready to go racing again. We are all committed to bringing our fans a 2020 Championship Season,” adding: “we and our partners fully expect the season to start at some point this summer.”

Will any more races be postponed or cancelled?
Chase Carey told fans that there is “significant potential” for additional postponements, but none have been announced yet.

F1, the FIA and all the relevant promoters and race authorities are in constant communication about all the remaining races on the calendar, and if any more are postponed, there will be full details on F1.com.

How many races will we get in 2020?
The current aim is to stage between 15 and 18 races in 2020.

[Adam43]

You are quite right, a couple of weeks ago they said there is uncertainty, other races might be effected and that they are aiming high.

[Moneyseeker]

Grandprix.com reporting that the Spa Promoter is saying the Belgium GP could in fact be cancelled.

Vanessa Maes, boss of the Spa promoter, admitted that full cancellation rather than mere postponement cannot be ruled out.

They have also suspended ticket sales for the Belgium GP.

Meanwhile the Italian Automobile Club is cautious ahead of the Italian GP

"We can no longer afford to make mistakes like in Australia, when the GP was cancelled with the public already at the track,” ACI president Angelo Sticchi Damiani told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"That was a setback for everyone, from Liberty Media to the teams, to the local organisers. To start again and then be forced to stop would be a disaster.”

Monza is situated in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic and remains under strict lockdown. With no end to the crisis in sight, Damiani urges Formula 1 to remain cautious.

"We are going through a situation of great uncertainty and in this moment we must act with caution and attention,” he added.

"The priority is to understand what happens in the countries that host the grands prix and in Italy and Great Britain, where most of the people in the paddock come from.”

[bella]

Originally Posted by Casper

F1 won't resume in any meaningful form until all the countries that F1 races are held in decide to allow international travel without any restrictions at all. Australia for instance has no plans to lift international travel for the masses until well into next year. Now factor in all the countries have to have their restrictions lifted for a full season but let's say a few do but the UK does not and that is where the majority of the teams are domiciled, if that were to occur then it does not matter how many countries lift their restrictions because the UK restrictions would still be in place.

honestly, it's bad enough trying to figure out how a european season is going to work outside of f1, let alone a global one with so many moving targets and changing situations. we thought it was bad during the turmoil in the gulf and middle east, this is much more of a headache.

there's so many things to organise and account for that have lead times of varying lengths. hotels that may have to randomly staff-up for a fully booked f1 weekend then reduce back to the new normal levels, catering, supply chains of all kinds - remember it takes weeks for tyres to reach many races. thats not including the catering and event staff for managing the crowd.

even at the three month point there's going to be costs that they will have to commit to, and absorb the losses when the event gets cancelled. i suppose theoretically eliminating the crowd would reduce the longest lead time stuff but you're also reducing the number of local people who'd be benefitting from the event in terms of business and wages.

[Moneyseeker]

UK lockdown extended for at least another 3 weeks, so we can expect a BGP postponement announcement shortly, I imagine.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

UK lockdown extended for at least another 3 weeks, so we can expect a BGP postponement announcement shortly, I imagine.

I'm not surprised, as I thought the initial three week period was too short and the number of deaths hasn't peaked. I can see the lockdown being continued to the end of May.

[Moneyseeker]

Talk of season start at Austria, then two races at Silverstone - behind closed doors - (one GP, One international circuit?), with the teams at circuit staff staying in the UK between the Silverstone races. This will mean FOM paying Silverstone to refund ticket holders/hospitality sales/trade stands, etc and then paying them for the circuit.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52317971

Dieter Rencken has a slightly different take on what was discussed with 3 races at Silverstone - all behind closed doors.

https://www.racefans.net/2020/04/16/...d-by-f1-teams/

[S griffin]

Yes heard that too. Let's see if two Silverstone races can make up for no Monaco. If that is what happens that is

[midgetman]

Good to hear some positive noises at last. Having slagged them off here quite a bit, I'm pleased to see that someone has some good ideas and sensible proposals.

Presumably this plan could move to accommodate different lockdown scenarios. This could make up half a season if they run at the FIA's minimum criterion. Transport the whole thing to Texas and repeat at COTA, or Abu Dhabi/Bahrain, and there's a Championship.

All we need now is for international governments to agree...

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Good to hear some positive noises at last. Having slagged them off here quite a bit, I'm pleased to see that someone has some good ideas and sensible proposals.

Presumably this plan could move to accommodate different lockdown scenarios. This could make up half a season if they run at the FIA's minimum criterion. Transport the whole thing to Texas and repeat at COTA, or Abu Dhabi/Bahrain, and there's a Championship.

All we need now is for international governments to agree...

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Agreed about proposals point 👍

Generally how many Top grade European venues have more than one layout, or multiple configurations?

Silverstone, Paul Ricard, Portimao, Navarra, Lauzitsring, and what about the one in Spain that Renault 3.5 used to go to with that enormous back straight?
Any others that might be suitable?

[Armco Bender]

Surprised F1 hasn't come up with decent virtual racing with all the drivers competing.
I can watch NASCAR,Indycars and V8 Supercars with all their drivers competing.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Surprised F1 hasn't come up with decent virtual racing with all the drivers competing.
I can watch NASCAR,Indycars and V8 Supercars with all their drivers competing.

I agree. I saw a virtual F1 race shown in the TV guide last night so tuned in..... only to find a bunch of gaming individuals and not one name I knew or had heard of, let alone with any pukka F1 drivers involved. I switched over to watch all the V8SC drivers competing at Silverstone and then Catalunya instead... to find Max Verstappen driving in V8SC in a wildcard extra RBR entry!

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Talk of season start at Austria, then two races at Silverstone - behind closed doors - (one GP, One international circuit?), with the teams at circuit staff staying in the UK between the Silverstone races. This will mean FOM paying Silverstone to refund ticket holders/hospitality sales/trade stands, etc and then paying them for the circuit.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52317971

Dieter Rencken has a slightly different take on what was discussed with 3 races at Silverstone - all behind closed doors.

https://www.racefans.net/2020/04/16/...d-by-f1-teams/

Reading those articles, I think they are both right.
I would imagine a whole range of possible options were discussed, including 2, 3 or more races at a single venue.
Probably the more accurate is the RF wording:

'Teams discussed the possibility of following that event with a series of up to three races in four weeks at Silverstone. These would take place on at least two different versions of the Northamptonshire track.'

I've been involved with similar discussions before (not Motorsport). A whole host of options are put on the table, no matter how ludicrous or improbable they seem. Gradually, options are dismissed and what is left is the best CoA.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

The though strikes me that even behind closed doors, you'd still be looking at a cast hundreds, many be a thousand plus, to put on an event.

For the teams, FOM personnel - including the FOM TV crew, even at minimal levels, there would need to still be catering and other on site ancillaries.

Add to that the volunteer Marshals who would need to travel and have "safe" accommodation. The medical teams both on site and at the designated supporting hospital should the worst happen.

Back at the team bases they would have their "mission control" rooms fully staffed, perhaps overstaffed, given fewer at the circuit itself.

Whilst I can certainly see the appeal of saying run behind closed doors, is it even practical, .... and I've not even mentioned actually getting the teams factory prepped and then the travel aspect to where ever they might actually put on such events.

[el_cat]

I find this talk of racing of multiple layouts of Silverstone quite strange - only one layout at Silverstone is Grade 1 certified, and none of the other layouts are long enough to meet Grade 1 criteria.

Whilst appreciating that these are unprecedented times, a 103 lap race of Silverstone’s International layout in November would be pushing things.

My completely unsubstantiated view was that you’ve got a couple of reasonably remote Grade 1 venues in Southern Europe - Portimao and Jerez - that could probably host behind-closed-doors races fairly deep into the autumn/winter without it being a freezing or wet weather farce.

[peebee2]

You only need Grade 1 because of the crowds really, Grade 2 would be ok if behind closed doors.

I can see UK-centred as likely travel restrictions make it simpler.

If travel was allowed, Jerez would be great. But would think Portimao is far too bumpy for F1 cars.

[S griffin]

I don’t think Portimao is bumpy, unless you count the gradients as bumps

[peebee2]

It’s ridiculously bumpy. Reputedly due to a lack of proper foundations due to a bit of a financial ‘issue.’

IIRC F1 teams said they wouldn’t go there again after they last tested there. Ditto F2, F3 etc. etc.

[el_cat]

Originally Posted by peebee2

You only need Grade 1 because of the crowds really, Grade 2 would be ok if behind closed doors..

But the rule book says the circuit must be Grade 1, and Supplement 2 of Appendix O of the FIA regs say that F1 can only run on circuits of 3.5km minimum length (with Monaco being granted an exemption for obvious rea$ons).

So as it stands, there is no alternative Silverstone layout that can meet Grade 1, and it would be a very brave man who changes a hard-baked safety regulation for convenience