266 replies to this topic

[Beri]

Motorsport.com is reporting that a delayed start to the 2021 season is inevitable.
The state of Victoria in Australia isn't keen on handing out the permits for the Grand Prix because of the obvious reasons. And now it appears that China is also being postponed because of the same reasons.

For all we know; the season might kick off at Imola instead. The only thing certain is that March is coming too soon for many countries to, at least, allow spectators on the grand stands.

To be continued I'd say.

Translated article:
https://ydws6pbl2mh5...paign=widget-38

Edited by Beri, 06 January 2021 - 19:12.

[Beri]

Thanks. I've added the article as well. It's translated because I couldn't find the English one that also mentioned China being postponed.

[shure]

Yeah the way things are going particularly in Europe I don't see much change from 2020 tbh and it wouldn't surprise if if they were to have a similar emergency calendar for F1.  You have to hope they've already considered this and have contingency plans in place b ut I think it would take a minor miracle for the Aussie opener to go as planned

[Beri]

I agree. And I do think it is weird that no one of the FOM/Liberty has come forward yet by stating various possible scenarios. Whilst other sports, like IndyCar, have already brought out their plan to postpone their start of the season. And the Australian Open has even demanded players to travel to Australia early, only to be quarantined for 10 days before they are even allowed to play.
It is building up to become a lot like 2020 again; a cancellation at the very last minute.

Edited by Beri, 06 January 2021 - 20:20.

[sportyskells]

This is a bit too early to talk postponed races as did everyone forgot f1 got 17 races in without any issues bar some sub drivers as f1 proved it can race under a bubble system

[Gambelli]

This is a bit too early to talk postponed races as did everyone forgot f1 got 17 races in without any issues bar some sub drivers as f1 proved it can race under a bubble system

 

This isn't F1 wanting to postpone, this is the countries refusing to allow the races to go ahead.  F1 has proven they can make it work, but Victoria appear to want to err on the side of caution and not allow it to happen, which whilst disappointing as a fan is totally fair enough stance.

[Clatter]

I am looking at positive virus infections spiking all over the world, rather than work in bubbles we should all be back in the complete lockdown, and stay there until minimum 60% of a countrys population have been vacinated, and there should be as close as zero travel between countries.

 

That is what is needed.

 

We can get F1 back next year, we do not need football, soccer, tennis or ski jumping. We need the virus stopped.

 

17 races, all at Silverstone. Minimum travel involved as the majority of teams are fairly close. Once in, no one allowed outside the confines of the circuit.

[pdac]

17 races, all at Silverstone. Minimum travel involved as the majority of teams are fairly close. Once in, no one allowed outside the confines of the circuit.

 

Yeah. If no spectators are to be allowed in, then might as well just have all of the races at the same circuit. It will also save a bit of money with the teams trying to develop special components for different circuits - repeat the same race 17 time (hey, why not 26 times?), collect the TV money and move on to next season.

[Garndell]

Yeah. If no spectators are to be allowed in, then might as well just have all of the races at the same circuit. It will also save a bit of money with the teams trying to develop special components for different circuits - repeat the same race 17 time (hey, why not 26 times?), collect the TV money and move on to next season.

 

Paul Ricard could host a race a day for 5 months and never use the same layout twice, might even get one interesting race out of it... nah, they'll all suck. 

[AustinF1]

It's been obvious for months that this was going to happen.

[goldenboy]

I'm surprised people still thought March in Melb would happen.

 

I'm expecting shuffling like last year but that's ok, my opinion is that it's still ok to have sports and life continue. F1 did a good job managing it last year.

[Marklar]

They should not even contemplate European races until August as things stand right now.

Why? They travel in bubbles so the situation in the country in question is largely irrelevant.

The obstacle are travel restrictions, but at least in Europe Elite Sport doesnt fall under it.

I see everyone repeating the same mistakes here as last year.

Edited by Marklar, 07 January 2021 - 08:02.

[aliefbielefeld]

Yeah with new mutation of the virus spreading throughout the world like a wildfire and the effects of the vaccines aren't noticeable yet, it's laughable to see F1 planning to have 23 races this year, i mean i think we'll be lucky if we have the same amount of races as last season especially with UK descending upon a total lockdown and the country being the base of more than half of the teams on the grid 

[balage06]

But notice how even the official docs said "provisional calendar".

[Risil]

Why? They travel in bubbles so the situation in the country in question is largely irrelevant.

The obstacle are travel restrictions, but at least in Europe Elite Sport doesnt fall under it.

I see everyone repeating the same mistakes here as last year.

 

The European races at least should be able to continue on the same terms as they did in 2020, right? Travel bubbles, no fans, wait for warmer weather and the virus to recede a bit.

 

I don't think the calendar as it currently stands will come to pass.

[Cyanide]

Why? They travel in bubbles so the situation in the country in question is largely irrelevant.

 

Because the travel bubbles are not always respected? We saw what happened last year as well with Leclerc, Perez, and a bunch of others. 

 

I see no reason why sport should be given special conditions in these times when thousands of businesses are going bankrupt everywhere. 

Edited by Cyanide, 07 January 2021 - 12:39.

[Risil]

That's the decision governments have made though. If elite sport was allowed to fail now, it would take decades to recover.

 

No doubt fairness and images are important, but who benefits if F1 and the Premier League go to the wall? Not me.

[SophieB]

Because the travel bubbles are not always respected? We saw what happened last year as well with Leclerc, Perez, and a bunch of others. 

 

I see no reason why sport should be given special conditions in these times when thousands of businesses are going bankrupt everywhere. 

Why add thousands more people losing their jobs if it can be avoided?

[Cyanide]

That's the decision governments have made though. If elite sport was allowed to fail now, it would take decades to recover.

 

Governments already made stricter decisions this year compared to last year (e.g. extended or all-day curfews). 

 

You can't expect people to take this situation seriously if sportsmen and entire teams can fly through different continents while you cannot even go to the grocery store?
 

Why add thousands more people losing their jobs if it can be avoided?

 

That's not a good enough reason to target elite sport as a privileged industry in these times. With that logic, why not open tourism with special bubbles and avoid thousands of job losses there. 

[BRG]

That's the decision governments have made though. If elite sport was allowed to fail now, it would take decades to recover.

 

No doubt fairness and images are important, but who benefits if F1 and the Premier League go to the wall? Not me.

Elite sport is awash with cash.  they can easily afford to tighten their belts and sit tight at home like the rest of us.  

 

Why add thousands more people losing their jobs if it can be avoided?

Why add thousands more people losing their lives if it can be avoided?

[shure]

Because the travel bubbles are not always respected? We saw what happened last year as well with Leclerc, Perez, and a bunch of others. 

 

I see no reason why sport should be given special conditions in these times when thousands of businesses are going bankrupt everywhere. 

Fairly easily remedied by making it unattractive for people to break the bubbles.  At the moment I'd agree some appear to be taking it a bit too casually.  But cancelling everything seems rather knee-jerk - has there been evidence that eg the races run in 2020 have themselves caused a spike in local cases?

 

Sport has proven psychological benefits, even when just watching.  Particularly now when more and more of us are becoming effectively prisoners in our own homes it's probably not a bad thing to have sporting events to provide a distraction and some mental stimulus.

[shure]

Elite sport is awash with cash.  they can easily afford to tighten their belts and sit tight at home like the rest of us.  

 

Why add thousands more people losing their lives if it can be avoided?

No doubt the drivers could, most of them anyway.  Not so sure about the mechanics and thousands of support personnel

[Risil]

Elite sport is awash with cash.  they can easily afford to tighten their belts and sit tight at home like the rest of us.  

 

If the TV money was switched off things I think things would collapse quickly. Teams backed by sovereign states would probably do fine but most do not have Man City's cash reserves.

[Marklar]

Because the travel bubbles are not always respected? We saw what happened last year as well with Leclerc, Perez, and a bunch of others.

I see no reason why sport should be given special conditions in these times when thousands of businesses are going bankrupt everywhere.

Sure, they arent completely respected but largely they are. Otherwise we would have seen many outbreaks.

They went racing last year in Barcelona when all hell was breaking loose there. I dont see any reason why this should be different now. Unless the UK loses its status for the Elite Sport exemptions due to them being a shitshow, but even then most countries have huge interest in F1 to go ahead.

Countries like the USA, Japan or China are a different matter: Besides the distance which is obviously a much bigger risk these countries just dont have foreign sport high on their priorities, hence why those races are likely to be called off, unless the vaccine wins that race.

On your last bit: that is a different question entirely. Matter of the fact is that they are given special conditions, whether we like it or not.

Edited by Marklar, 07 January 2021 - 12:58.

[Cyanide]

Fairly easily remedied by making it unattractive for people to break the bubbles.  At the moment I'd agree some appear to be taking it a bit too casually.  But cancelling everything seems rather knee-jerk - has there been evidence that eg the races run in 2020 have themselves caused a spike in local cases?

 

Personally, I haven't looked into it, but the governments' attitude is hypocritical if they insist that any one person can infect dozens and order everyone to stay at home while corporations are allowed to do whatever as long as they file some kind of exception request. 

 

 

 

Sport has proven psychological benefits, even when just watching.  Particularly now when more and more of us are becoming effectively prisoners in our own homes it's probably not a bad thing to have sporting events to provide a distraction and some mental stimulus.

 

Again, various other industries offer the same kind of benefits - you don't see a lot of passes given to them as much as elite sport is given. 

[SophieB]

Elite sport is awash with cash.  they can easily afford to tighten their belts and sit tight at home like the rest of us.  

 

Why add thousands more people losing their lives if it can be avoided?

I don’t think it’s true at all. F1 is like one of those old aristocratic families who project massive wealth as part of the image but in actuality have to watch every penny. It’s worth investigating if the sport can continue to save it, and the accompanying jobs before just binning it. We don’t necessarily have to choose between jobs and lives here.

 

e. I suppose Ferrari and Mercedes *could* fund it at a loss but would they? And who would they be racing at the end except each other?

Edited by SophieB, 07 January 2021 - 14:26.

[Marklar]

That's not a good enough reason to target elite sport as a privileged industry in these times. With that logic, why not open tourism with special bubbles and avoid thousands of job losses there.

thing is they kinda worked for that privilege. They pay ton of tests for example. What you suggest with special tourism bubbles was also tried out at some point, but it doesnt work (so they opened up entirely then instead). The concept of elite sports (especially of motor racing) work better, hence why they are allowed to continue. Because why making things even worse than they are?

Btw it's not like only Elite Sport can do it: in many countries you can bypass the travel restrictions if you have negative tests, you just have to pay for it. But so do Elite Sports. I dont like it either, but I can understand it. As others said it's in the end a business that benefits everyone too.

[shure]

Personally, I haven't looked into it, but the governments' attitude is hypocritical if they insist that any one person can infect dozens and order everyone to stay at home while corporations are allowed to do whatever as long as they file some kind of exception request. 

 

 

 

Again, various other industries offer the same kind of benefits - you don't see a lot of passes given to them as much as elite sport is given. 

No-one's suggesting that corporations should be allowed to do whatever they want.  There's a huge gulf between complete anarchy and total shutdown and things don't have to be taken to either extreme

 

There are already exceptions.  Food shops remain open, because it's more practical than expecting all food to be delivered.  People are still getting packages delivered at home for all kinds of goods but where are the calls to shut down DHL?  Some industries need factories to run 24 hours a day and shutting them down is unthinkable - in some cases they can't without incurring bankruptcy-inducing costs.  If sport is run under heavily controlled conditions then I don't see what the hypocrisy is.  

[Cyanide]

Sure, they arent completely respected but largely they are. Otherwise we would have seen many outbreaks.

They went racing last year in Barcelona when all hell was breaking loose there. I dont see any reason why this should be different now. Unless the UK loses its status for the Elite Sport exemptions due to them being a shitshow, but even then most countries have huge interest in F1 to go ahead.

Countries like the USA, Japan or China are a different matter: Besides the distance which is obviously a much bigger risk these countries just dont have foreign sport high on their priorities, hence why those races are likely to be called off, unless the vaccine wins that race.

On your last bit: that is a different question entirely. Matter of the fact is that they are given special conditions, whether we like it or not.

 

Outbreaks are nowadays impossible to track. For all we know, Perez, Norris and whoever else might as well have infected hundreds of others while out of the bubble. 

 

 

You are right on the economic interests though. That is the sole reason why this keeps and will keep going this year as well, not because elite sport is less of a risk to spread the virus. 

 

thing is they kinda worked for that privilege. They pay ton of tests for example. What you suggest with special tourism bubbles was also tried out at some point, but it doesnt work (so they opened up entirely then instead). The concept of elite sports (especially of motor racing) work better, hence why they are allowed to continue. Because why making things even worse than they are?

Btw it's not like only Elite Sport can do it: in many countries you can bypass the travel restrictions if you have negative tests, you just have to pay for it. But so do Elite Sports. I dont like it either, but I can understand it. As others said it's in the end a business that benefits everyone too.

 

Paying for many tests strips you of responsibility to contain the virus? Hmmm, sounds like a conspiracy waiting to break. 

 

Travel allowances and restrictions depend on the nature of the outbreak at a given point in time, though. Several flights from/to UK were banned just a couple of days ago with or without a negative test. Other countries like Singapore ban external flights altogether. 

 

Look, we can play convincing all day, the bottom line is this thing will not go away while governments treat it like a political and economy bending tool. It's how it erupted in the first place - exceptions upon exceptions granted instead of imposing strict lockdowns. I just don't see why people are justifying the pass given on elite sport when other, more essential industries are collapsing. 

Edited by Cyanide, 07 January 2021 - 13:22.

[Cyanide]

No-one's suggesting that corporations should be allowed to do whatever they want.  There's a huge gulf between complete anarchy and total shutdown and things don't have to be taken to either extreme

 

There are already exceptions.  Food shops remain open, because it's more practical than expecting all food to be delivered.  People are still getting packages delivered at home for all kinds of goods but where are the calls to shut down DHL?  Some industries need factories to run 24 hours a day and shutting them down is unthinkable - in some cases they can't without incurring bankruptcy-inducing costs.  If sport is run under heavily controlled conditions then I don't see what the hypocrisy is.  

 

Exactly the point. 

Delivery services, food shops are essential industries. Elite sports with teams reporting annual profits of tens of millions of dollars, on the other hand is not. 

[cpbell]

 Unless the UK loses its status for the Elite Sport exemptions due to them being a shitshow, but even then most countries have huge interest in F1 to go ahead.

 

We already are.

[shure]

Exactly the point. 

Delivery services, food shops are essential industries. Elite sports with teams reporting annual profits of tens of millions of dollars, on the other hand is not. 

what relevance are the annual profits?  If it helps Sainsbury's in the UK recently announced they were expecting profits of at least GBP 330m to March 2021, up from the previous forecast of GBP 270m.  Should they be ashamed of that?

 

Food and deliveries are essential to you, but many would argue that entertainment is also essential, especially these days, as previously pointed out.  We're  not talking about a brief cessation of activities and it's entirely possible that this situation will be with us for a very, very long time, maybe even indefinitely.  Some analysts are already predicting that 2021 won't be that much different from 2020.  So taking steps to provide people with some escapism is something many might consider essential. 

 

I refer you back to the point about extremes, which you didn't answer.  Why are the only options all or nothing?

[PLAYLIFE]

It took 7 weeks to return a team of 5 work colleagues who are Australian citizens back to Australia in Oct/Dec 2020, and that was with the help of some in the federal government. Australia was capped to about 6,000 to 7,500 people per WEEK.

I couldn't imagine the logistical, financial and bureaucratic nightmare it would be in getting the F1 non-Aussue citizens/residents into the country.

As per similar thread last year, I will eat my hat if Melbourne were to go ahead.

[shure]

It took 7 weeks to return a team of 5 work colleagues who are Australian citizens back to Australia in Oct/Dec 2020, and that was with the help of some in the federal government. Australia was capped to about 6,000 to 7,500 people per WEEK.

I couldn't imagine the logistical, financial and bureaucratic nightmare it would be in getting the F1 non-Aussue citizens/residents into the country.

As per similar thread last year, I will eat my hat if Melbourne were to go ahead.

It doesn't make sense to me to allow street races to go ahead, given what's happening.  The logistics involved in keeping the travelling circus away from the local populace doesn't bear thinking about.  But there are plenty of circuits in out of the way places where things may be more easily controlled with a little money and careful planning.  

[Cyanide]

what relevance are the annual profits?  If it helps Sainsbury's in the UK recently announced they were expecting profits of at least GBP 330m to March 2021, up from the previous forecast of GBP 270m.  Should they be ashamed of that?

 

Food and deliveries are essential to you, but many would argue that entertainment is also essential, especially these days, as previously pointed out.  We're  not talking about a brief cessation of activities and it's entirely possible that this situation will be with us for a very, very long time, maybe even indefinitely.  Some analysts are already predicting that 2021 won't be that much different from 2020.  So taking steps to provide people with some escapism is something many might consider essential. 

 

I refer you back to the point about extremes, which you didn't answer.  Why are the only options all or nothing?

 

I can't help you if you don't consider wealthy businesses given passes an issue when less wealthier, more essential businesses are locked down completely. 

 

No, food and delivery businesses are essential to everybody, whereas entertainment is a lesser luxury. We don't need it. There are other forms of entertainment which provide the same escapism, that don't involve people given exceptions to travel the globe to entertain a TV audience and potentially break a bubble and spread the virus even more. You're right, 2021 won't be much different from 2020 if people don't stick together and let go of these lesser luxuries that were not even part of our lives a century ago. 

 

I never said it should be extreme. You're the only one considering F1 shutting down for a bit while the world stabilizes as an extreme measure. I do not see anything extreme about it, they essentially almost did it last year as well. 

[Marklar]

We also dont need take away food from the local Thai/Greek/Chinese etc., you can easily cook at home, no?

Edited by Marklar, 07 January 2021 - 14:13.

[SophieB]

I can't help you if you don't consider wealthy businesses given passes an issue when less wealthier, more essential businesses are locked down completely. 

 

No, food and delivery businesses are essential to everybody, whereas entertainment is a lesser luxury. We don't need it. There are other forms of entertainment which provide the same escapism, that don't involve people given exceptions to travel the globe to entertain a TV audience and potentially break a bubble and spread the virus even more. You're right, 2021 won't be much different from 2020 if people don't stick together and let go of these lesser luxuries that were not even part of our lives a century ago. 

 

I never said it should be extreme. You're the only one considering F1 shutting down for a bit while the world stabilizes as an extreme measure. I do not see anything extreme about it, they essentially almost did it last year as well. 

 

You're saying that because they all had to shut down some of last year they can do it for the whole of this year but that actually makes it much LESS likely to be sustainable, as the sport will already been forced to eat into any reserves. There are very few businesses that employ hundreds of people that can just go into mothballs for a year and then pick up where they leave off.

[F1matt]

Can Liberty purchase enough vaccinations for them to administer an injection to everyone single person who works in the sport, I am thinking FIA officials, TV crews, teams, drivers, and associated personnel. We dont really need the media there as long as they have access to the TV feed and press conferences. This might ease the concerns of GP venues, states, and countries. 

[Cyanide]

We also dont need take away food from the local Thai/Greek/Chinese etc., you can easily cook at home, no?

 

If due to curfew or health reasons you cannot go to the shop or cook, then you do need it. And really? We've reached the point in the argumentation where Thai/Greek/Chinese local stores are a comparison to F1. 

 

Funny how those explosions of safety first and 'postpone the races' from the COVID thread last year took a 180-degree turn when at best, nothing has changed since then. 

[SophieB]

If due to curfew or health reasons you cannot go to the shop or cook, then you do need it. And really? We've reached the point in the argumentation where Thai/Greek/Chinese local stores are a comparison to F1. 

 

Funny how those explosions of safety first and 'postpone the races' from the COVID thread last year took a 180-degree turn when at best, nothing has changed since then. 

 

This isn't so, a lot has been learned about the virus since then, and the testing regimen has been ramped up massively.

 

e. Also, not first in the queue or anything but there do exist vaccines, that's a pretty significant change.

Edited by SophieB, 07 January 2021 - 14:29.

[Cyanide]

You're saying that because they all had to shut down some of last year they can do it for the whole of this year but that actually makes it much LESS likely to be sustainable, as the sport will already been forced to eat into any reserves. There are very few businesses that employ hundreds of people that can just go into mothballs for a year and then pick up where they leave off.

 

How is that different to everybody else muscling through the pandemic? Yes, these are larger corporations with more employees, but so are hotels and airlines. You don't see governments giving them an easier time. 

[SophieB]

How is that different to everybody else muscling through the pandemic? Yes, these are larger corporations with more employees, but so are hotels and airlines. You don't see governments giving them an easier time. 

 

It was your argument that this was possible, I'm just saying it's really likely it's not for the reasons given.

 

As to the new point you're making, because (appropriately for our sport) the nature of it makes it more possible to help motorsport than airlines. And unlike airlines, many more people get a morale boost from seeing sport on TV than seeing footage of a 747 take off. The airlines also *have* received direct government help anyway - the US alone has given loans and grants of approx $25 billion so again, you're not really making the clearest of points here.

[Dalton007]

The sport should continue when individual countries are satisfied.   F1 did very well last year, no reason why they can't do it again.

[Calum]

I generally don't mind the bread and circuses of having live sports as a distraction.

It was a looooong break when the best to offer was hyped up Youtube video re-runs. 

 

I take issue when obvious breaches of the sport-government agreements are treated with such soft penalties.

It's such a privileged position to be in to have exemptions for travel and close contacts etc.

 

Whenever high profile examples in different sports don't appear to take these agreements seriously, it really grates. 

It can feel like they are sh*tting on all of us stuck working from home, unable to visit friends in other parts of the country, and generally sitting with life on hold.

 

I hope there is another full F1 season in 2021.

[Cyanide]

It was your argument that this was possible, I'm just saying it's really likely it's not for the reasons given.

 

As to the new point you're making, because (appropriately for our sport) the nature of it makes it more possible to help motorsport than airlines. And unlike airlines, many more people get a morale boost from seeing sport on TV than seeing footage of a 747 take off. The airlines also *have* received direct government help anyway - the US alone has given loans and grants of approx $25 billion so again, you're not really making the clearest of points here.

 

Despite the government programs, airlines do not have an easier time than F1, which is continued to be allowed to operate. Small suppliers still crashed and burned, and even the bigger ones were forced to cut costs, retire planes, cut routes, etc. They still suffered major losses due to government restrictions, whereas F1 has not, or at least not even close to the same degree. Funny argument on watching 747 taking off, since people mostly use planes to travel, not watch them on TV. 

 

I'm not making any new point, the argument is the same: F1 should not be allowed to cut corners strictly for the benefit of entertaining the masses and boosting a country's economy, while other global industries (especially essential ones) don't have the luxury to enjoy those privileges. Either treat everybody the same, or don't, sadly the governments are opting for the latter. 

Edited by Cyanide, 07 January 2021 - 14:55.

[Marklar]

If due to curfew or health reasons you cannot go to the shop or cook, then you do need it. And really? We've reached the point in the argumentation where Thai/Greek/Chinese local stores are a comparison to F1.

Funny how those explosions of safety first and 'postpone the races' from the COVID thread last year took a 180-degree turn when at best, nothing has changed since then.

you dont, you can just order the general food service then. If Netflix is seen as a apt replacement for the lack of live sport then canned food is also a apt replacement for chop suey.

you are not realizing it, but that's your argument. Everything that isnt essential shall be shut down, even if there is a good solution for it: just like take away services are a good - not 100 % safe - solution for restaurants a good and expensive health concept from sports is just the same. The only difference is that everyone feels more sorry for a small family business than for a big sport entity.

The opinion of many has changed because we learned from the past 12 months. The concept worked fine, what makes you think it wont in 2021?

Edited by Marklar, 07 January 2021 - 15:02.

[SophieB]

Despite the government programs, airlines do not have an easier time than F1, which is continued to be allowed to operate. Small suppliers still crashed and burned, and even the bigger ones were forced to cut costs, retire planes, cut routes, etc. They still suffered major losses due to government restrictions, whereas F1 has not, or at least not even close to the same degree. Funny argument on watching 747 taking off, since people mostly use planes to travel, not watch them on TV. 

 

I'm not making any new point, the argument is the same: F1 should not be allowed to cut corners strictly for the benefit of entertaining the masses and boosting a country's economy, while other global industries (especially essential ones) don't have the luxury to enjoy those privileges. Either treat everybody the same, or don't, sadly the governments are opting for the latter. 

 

Again, you were saying why should motorsport be cut any breaks when airlines haven't but they *have*, massively so, so you're undermining your own argument. Also, pretty sure with things being so astoundingly shitty, governments are going to see value in sports carrying on if risk can be managed because national morale is not a trivial thing. Comparing it to transport links isn't a relevant one, they're both important but they don't meet the same societal needs so it's not surprising if they get treated differently. Again, airlines have received direct taxpayer help, remember.

 

https://www.nytimes....department.html

[Cyanide]

you dont, you can just order the general food service then. If Netflix is seen as a apt replacement for the lack of live sport then canned food is also a apt replacement for chop suey.

you are not realizing it, but that's your argument. Everything that isnt essential shall be shut down, even if there is a good solution for it: just like take away services are a good - not 100 % safe - solution for restaurants a good and expensive health concept from sports is just the same. The only difference is that everyone feels more sorry for a small family business than for a big sport entity.

The opinion of many has changed because we learned from the past 12 months.

 

General food service does not travel around the globe with a team of hundreds of people potentially spreading the virus. Neither does a local Thai/Greek restaurant or the Netflix online catalogue. 

 

Good solutions were never enough to contain the virus. F1 employed good solutions, yet people within those bubbles still caught it and spread it. Remind me why should we feel sorry for them in this case. 

 

No, the sad reality is we really haven't learned at all. We can't go on without forms of entertainment for half a year for our own benefit if it meant our long term survival and escaping this thing. 

[Marklar]

I see a big difference between a sporting spectacle moving all over the world, and ordering Chinese from a place under the same stay at home orders as I am - I am in New Jersey, if you come form out of state you have to register and quarantine. I do not get why some here do not feel the prudence of doing all we can to beat the virus.

My company is an Essential Business (Transportation and Logistics) - But with most hands really just being office work, we have had 95% of our employees working from home since March 12, 2020 - We do our part, F1 should do the same.

Yeah, because F1 can be done from home. Do your part F1: either cease to exist or take up massive state supports - instead to continue with a low risk concept. Sensible 👍

I use the takeaway example because a couple of untested people waiting in front of a restaurant for their order are more likely to infect each other than a bunch of regulary tested people seperated in small groups. But because it's a smaller business no one cares: the current wave was caused by private meetings, hence why we have to swallow the pill in that area. It makes a lot of sense, even if those who sticked to the rules all along are collateral damage now.

Edited by Marklar, 07 January 2021 - 15:20.

[Cyanide]

Again, you were saying why should motorsport be cut any breaks when airlines haven't but they *have*, massively so, so you're undermining your own argument. Also, pretty sure with things being so astoundingly shitty, governments are going to see value in sports carrying on if risk can be managed because national morale is not a trivial thing. Comparing it to transport links isn't a relevant one, they're both important but they don't meet the same societal needs so it's not surprising if they get treated differently. Again, airlines have received direct taxpayer help, remember.

 

https://www.nytimes....department.html

 

No, airlines were not "massively" helped. The bailouts were a bare minimum, a global economy cannot afford to lose the entire airline industry. It's hardly the same "help" that F1 received over the course of last year, allowing to continue even though cases did erupt here and there.