THE F1 COVID THREAD: Will GP be cancelled?

[peebee2]

I did say sorry for misquoting, and I’ll say it again now. And I tried to lighten the situation by not biting on the insults.

People are dying while we post here.

[bella]

i think that's exactly *why* most of us are posting on here, to be fair.

it's escapism, innit. even if we can't escape the virus, here we respectfully ignore the really bad stuff and focus on the practicalities of its impact on our sport.

[RWill2073]

Haha, that exchange above would be expected come june or so, but we just hit april 1. Loooonnnnggggg way to go in this to already be turning to infighting to that level.

[S griffin]

It’s even harder when there’s no sport to distract us, so we have to find something else to talk about to keep us happy

[bella]

Originally Posted by RWill2073

Haha, that exchange above would be expected come june or so, but we just hit april 1. Loooonnnnggggg way to go in this to already be turning to infighting to that level.

this was par for the course in the early 2000s before other forms of discussion took off

it’s also why we’ve had an “attack the post, not the poster” rule for a looooong time.

seems like a good time to say to anybody reading this that if you post something anywhere on tenths, then read it back later and realise you reacted inappropriately because of things happening in life and it’s too late for you to edit it yourself, report your own post using the relevant button on the post and let us know what you want to be done.

can’t guarantee any specific action will be taken for a multitude of reasons, but one of us will try and take a look.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by S griffin

It’s even harder when there’s no sport to distract us, so we have to find something else to talk about to keep us happy

^^^^ Agree. It's going to be a long 2020.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

It looks like multiple races at Silverstone and reversing the track, may not be such a daft idea after all.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...reverse-layout

[billy bleach]

McLaren furloughing staff. What happened to the much trumpeted Ventilator project? ......

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

McLaren furloughing staff. What happened to the much trumpeted Ventilator project? ......

Those working on the ventilator project are remaining; those furloughed are not part of the project.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

McLaren furloughing staff. What happened to the much trumpeted Ventilator project? ......

An article on the BBC suggests it is still going ahead:

Staff working on the F1 project to boost the supply of ventilators for the NHS fighting coronavirus will not be on furlough but will take the pay cut.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52087216

[S griffin]

So many different layouts at Silverstone, they can use the full circuit, the national circuit, the south circuit, the full circuit with the old pits, the extended national, the bike circuit, the historic circuit. In fact they could even bring back bridge corner or maybe even run on the rallycross circuit! More than enough races

Good to see McLaren drivers voluntarily taking a pay cut, they know there are more important things at this time and will do anything to help muddy waters

[Greem]

Originally Posted by S griffin

So many different layouts at Silverstone, they can use the full circuit, the national circuit, the south circuit, the full circuit with the old pits, the extended national, the bike circuit, the historic circuit. In fact they could even bring back bridge corner or maybe even run on the rallycross circuit! More than enough races

Bridge, although still there, would require mammoth amounts of work to reinstate, not least a complete resurface and build of all the modern support infrastructure plus replacing all the spectator barriers and fences. Doubtful that's a goer.

National circuit is far too short - a race on that would be something like 185 (very short) laps!

International (south) circuit is just under the minimum which I think is 2.5 miles.

I'd pay to see the cars run on the rallycross track, though it would definitely be a one-off

What is interesting is that the Silverstone CEO has already talked about possibilities, including not ruling out running the track in reverse (which would also take a significant amount of work).

[Armco Bender]

They should hold all the races at Silverstone.Hold one GP for a different country every week.
The Aussie GP you let a few kangaroos loose,the French GP you have a model of the Eiffel Tower in the background,British GP Morris dancers,US GP build a McDonalds on Hangar Straight.
No one would notice,cars & teams all remain in one country,win win.

Just goes to show F1 read TenTenths.....

[bathurst77]

Two months into the season and Williams equal first.
Who would have guessed!

[Adam43]

So joint winners of the last ever F1 season that the teams gathered for.

[Moneyseeker]

Reading around there may be a few more complications in getting the calendar going.

According to one of the F1 ticket sellers - ticket sales to F1 and all motorsport have not just slowed down, they have stopped.
Races later on the calendar not yet affected rely on the early season F1 action/excitement to generate ticket sales
Some organisers need to commit to heavy infrastructure/traffic management and transport costs 6 to 8 months out from the race
Some circuuits need minimum of 90 days to get ready to hold a GP - so May is the latest for events to be rescheduled for August
One promoter has already said that an ' Austrialia' would put them out of business
Another unamed promoter says cancellation now would be better than runing it because they will no longer sell enough tickets and still have the costs of holding the race.
There are rumblings that FOM may have to offer financial support to some promoters in order to hold some of the races.

We often just think of the calendar reshuffle as flinging a few new dates around, but aside from the gilded money is no object few, largely there are real businesses with their own money on the line behind these races. This is a jigsaw and it is not just about fitting the races in, which is what FOMis trying to do, it is also making the races pay, which is another story IMO.

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[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Greem

Bridge, although still there, would require mammoth amounts of work to reinstate, not least a complete resurface and build of all the modern support infrastructure plus replacing all the spectator barriers and fences. Doubtful that's a goer.

National circuit is far too short - a race on that would be something like 185 (very short) laps!

International (south) circuit is just under the minimum which I think is 2.5 miles.

I'd pay to see the cars run on the rallycross track, though it would definitely be a one-off

What is interesting is that the Silverstone CEO has already talked about possibilities, including not ruling out running the track in reverse (which would also take a significant amount of work).

Of course, there is that rule that F1 laps shouldn’t be less than minute so that would rule out the national circuit. I was only half serious about using the bridge layout, but it’s a nice idea

[Armco Bender]

What will kill it will be border restrictions,they will be in place way longer than lock downs.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Reading around there may be a few more complications in getting the calendar going.

That list of issues sounds very practical and logical. When this is over, lots of things will need a "cold restart" to get moving again. F1 has lots of moving parts. Its like starting a race engine. It needs to be warmed up first, then when ready you get on track. You dont fire it up cold and then jump straight on track. F1 is setup to run uninterrupted (even the off season) and has done so for many decades.

I am now completely convinced that any races in 2020 will not be "typical". If they manage to pull anything off, it will be subsidized, rushed, non-typical, etc.

Richard

[S griffin]

I think WEC have taken the sensible decision to leave it till September. Optimistic as I am see to F1 back asap, I think this is something they should consider

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by Moneyseeker

Reading around there may be a few more complications in getting the calendar going...

gives a new meaning to the disclaimer on tickets that 'Motorsports can be dangerous'!

i suppose the purchase of the ticket basically waives responsibility if a spectator gets hurts from debris or sound levels etc but im not sure that one can willingly give up their right not to be exposed to an imminent health threat like a virus. not in western countries anyways.

following along your line of thought...who are they going to find willing to underwrite any large gathering before a vaccine is readily available ?

as you say the local promoters are in enough of a pickle which means FOM will have to pick up the bill and i dont think their pockets are deep enough for that.

[bella]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

McLaren furloughing staff. What happened to the much trumpeted Ventilator project? ......

other teams are doing it too but as others have said the ventilator staff are staying on. that's relatively few though. not many companies in any of the governments projects will need full staff to deliver.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by bella

other teams are doing it too but as others have said the ventilator staff are staying on. that's relatively few though. not many companies in any of the governments projects will need full staff to deliver.

Yeah, friend of mine from Williams is on 'August Break' at the moment. Remains to be seen whether they'll end up back in the factory or not.

[coppice]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

gives a new meaning to the disclaimer on tickets that 'Motorsports can be dangerous'!

i suppose the purchase of the ticket basically waives responsibility if a spectator gets hurts from debris or sound levels etc but im not sure that one can willingly give up their right not to be exposed to an imminent health threat like a virus. not in western countries anyways.

following along your line of thought...who are they going to find willing to underwrite any large gathering before a vaccine is readily available ?

as you say the local promoters are in enough of a pickle which means FOM will have to pick up the bill and i dont think their pockets are deep enough for that.

The waivers are largely ineffective under UK law, and have been for decades . A cannot exclude B's right to take action in respect of injury, or death caused by A's negligence. It always amuses me to see ' you are here at your own risk' signs - they are as meaningless as 'trespassers will be prosecuted' (only in very limited circumstances is trespass a crime - it is a civil matter ).

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

following along your line of thought...who are they going to find willing to underwrite any large gathering before a vaccine is readily available ?

That's an interesting point. In my daily world, some kart tracks closed earlier than others not out of social responsibility but because insurance companies withdrew their cover, or modified it in some way.

The restart of F1 will not be in Liberty's hands.


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