It has been a week since spending a pleasant afternoon with friends in Melbourne (such socialising seems grossly abhorrent just seven days later) was followed by getting on a plane back to the UK. It brought to an end a confusing few days in which sleep was minimal and stress was maximal. Neither Formula 1 nor the FIA had portrayed itself in a positive light through its haphazardly reactive response to a fast-accelerating crisis. The benefit of hindsight, and increased lockdowns worldwide, makes the decision to press ahead with the Australian Grand Prix – officially calling it off just two hours before FP1 – even more mad.
Make no mistake: that debacle was a low that led to widespread anger among those who lived through it, most on the other side of the world to their Europe-based families, who felt strung along on a dangerous rollercoaster.
Since that sleep-deprived and stress-inducing week Formula 1 and the FIA has acted decisively and coherently in spite of a situation that remains rocky at best and destructive at worst.
Formula 1’s 2020 calendar remains the great unknown but after dithering with Australia for so long we now know that we will not be racing until at least June.
After calling off Bahrain and Vietnam, the respective parties convened, discussed the matters with race promoters and swiftly postponed the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco. The last of those then took the decision to cancel its event entirely for 2020 and that was of little surprise. Construction of the circuit is not the work of a moment while in not paying a race fee owing to its prestigious status it was always likely to be first on the chopping block.
The rescheduling of the summer break was also achieved cleanly when someone could easily have kicked up a fuss. Formula 1 factories face closure anyway due to government restrictions (currently in Italy and France, and impending in Britain) and therefore moving the mandatory shutdown – and extending it by a week – frees up August for racing. The ability of Formula 1 and the FIA to bypass team approval on any revised calendar also clears one headache.
But the biggest development surrounded postponing the 2021 regulations by 12 months while simultaneously mandating the 2020 chassis to be used next year. A huge amount of work has gone into the 2021 regulations and so for everyone to agree on a delay displays the common unity at a time of crisis. Formula 1 teams will find belts tightened (even – and maybe especially – the previously big-spending manufacturers) over the coming months and so this is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Focus has gone from one-upmanship and self-interest to an awareness of the greater good.
Beyond regulation and rescheduling there were two other pieces of proactivity that portrayed Formula 1 in a positive light.
The first – and most important – is that the seven UK-based teams (along, we understand, with Ferrari) are working on a plan to assist with the production and development of much-needed ventilators in order to tackle the coronavirus crisis. Formula 1 teams are full of exceptionally clever people and have wide-ranging advanced engineering arms that have worked on a multitude of projects. For example, Williams has recently been involved with a project to produce Aerofoils that can be placed in supermarket fridges to massively reduce energy expenditure. McLaren Applied Technologies has helped projects such as Children In Need. This development will save lives: and that is better than any grand prix outcome.
The other, and less vital, development is that a virtual grand prix series will run in place of real events until further notice. Formula 1 has been working on this project since the Chinese Grand Prix was postponed and it will feature a mixture of real drivers and some other assorted household names. It keeps eyeballs on screens and (along with Veloce Esports and The Race’s projects) keeps the motorsport community united and engaged at a time of worry and uncertainty.
There remains a long road ahead, with an immeasurable amount of pitfalls, but Formula 1 – at last – has acted positively and decisively.
