Seidl: F1 must not burn through Covid-19 tests when others are in need

F1 2020

Seidl: F1 must not burn through Covid-19 tests when others are in need

Everyone wants racing to get going as soon as possible, but only if it is safe

Martin Macdonald

Friday 17 April 2020 11:33 Updated: 13:28

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl doesn’t believe it would be right for Formula 1 to receive a significant amount of Covid-19 tests for team members just so the 2020 season can finally start.

With the start of the campaign indefinitely postponed until July at the earliest, various scenarios are being discussed as to how the season could be implemented.

However, this will only happen as the coronavirus pandemic subsides or an overwhelming majority of F1 workers test negatively for the virus.

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That would require widespread testing, though, and Seidl doesn’t want the sport to be given priority over those more in need such as frontline workers.

“What I think is an important point is the public acceptance of events happening again,” said Seidl.

“I think it’s important that you only go back to go racing once we also have certainty when it comes down to protective equipment and that the number of tests for people are all in place.

“And, [that they] are available to people that actually need it, and that we are not the ones burning these tests or these materials, just for going back racing.

“I think there’s a big desire from people, from the public, from the fans, that especially in these lockdown situations we are all in at the moment, that sport events are happening again – even if it’s just on TV.

“But again, obviously, there’s a lot of different aspects that need to be considered.”

Like any aspect of current life, F1 will only go back to normal when it is safe for everyone involved - the fans, the drivers, the team members, but Seidl also admits that the desires of the race promoters will also be a big factor.

“As always, the most important thing is to protect our people,” he said.

“Definitely we can’t go back to racing until we definitely know that our people are safe. Then I think it will simply depend on the guidelines of our home countries, first of all, and then the travel guidelines.

“We need to see if that allows us to travel out and back into our home countries. We need to wait for the different countries to decide whether races should happen

“And I think also, you need to see what the promoters are deciding because, especially with the changes of dates also for a lot of races, the promoters need to be up for it and it needs to make sense from the commercial point of view also for the promoters for F1.”