24 replies to this topic

[mariner]

With the annoucement of a Portugese GP just before Spain and the new UK border lockdowns the question of whether  UK F1 teams may have to operate from European bases comes up. So far  only Portugal is on the hotel quarantine list but the UK gov't has ben clear it will add counties if needed and has not committed to any end dates for hotel quarantine.

 

It must be in the minds of some teams to re locate the travelling crews and the spares etc to a Euro base. Plenty of good facilities  exist eg Dallera and with alt the new customs rules minimizing cross channel parts traffic would make sense

 

Apologies if this has already been discussed

Edited by mariner, 10 February 2021 - 14:23.

[loki]

They’ll bubble, fly charter, test, isolate.  It’s going to be more up to the host countries than home base.  They did pretty good last time.  Relatively few cases, what cases they had were found quickly and successfully treated.  With the virus rampant everywhere deeply in the community some science types think lockdowns aren’t as effective as they were before wide community spread.  At this point in the pandemic it appears lockdowns are a less effective tool than at the top of the pandemic.

 

Except for transit time customs won’t be an issue.  They deal with it outside the EU every season.  Once the infrastructure is more streamlined and scaled up it will be similar to how it was in the olden days.  You could get stuck for a few hours but usually nothing more than that for high profile temporary import/export.

[sabjit]

No.

 

Next question.

[pdac]

If they all stay in the UK, they'll get vaccinated soon.

[jjcale]

Will the UK based [ fill in the blank for whatever kind of international operation ] need to set up satellite EU bases to keep going at the same level ....

[MattK9]

Do they have to? No

 

Will they. Maybe. It would be a bit weird if Merc and Renault didnt already have some sort of facility in Germany/France that could act as a European Hub/Storage facilities where they could load/unload the road trucks and undertake basic maintenance.

 

Not sure it makes that much sense to the other British based F1 teams as they could just go from racetrack to racetrack even if there is a two week break between races. Spare parts can just be delivered direct to wherever required.

 

It would be interesting to know if any teams already do have a European base or not. I can think of many reason why they may want one, not just Brexit/Covid related reasons.

[MattK9]

If they all stay in the UK, they'll get vaccinated soon.

 

No they wont.

 

UK Gov are suggesting all over 50s will be offered vaccine (that doesnt work well on SA variant) by end of may. How many of the team workforce are over 50? Not many, nearly all in management positions. it is a young mans game. The european season will be nearly over by the time 20 somethings are offered the first vaccine jab and it will be nearly Christmas by the time they have their second jab.

[mariner]

The issue isn't vaccination it's UK Government law. Now you must go into hotel quarantine for 10 days if you come in from Portugal. As I understand it there are no exceptions any more for elite sportspeople.

 

If you have to stay in a hotel for 10 days then servicing an F1 team during the 2021 published calendar becomes very, very difficult.

 

Today it is only Portugal but the "red" list can  be changed at short notice so any sensible team would , I hope, be thinking very carefully about operating outside the UK this year.

 

You can have duplicate teams but if each team is in isoiation for two weeks that gets hard.

Edited by mariner, 10 February 2021 - 19:25.

[sabjit]

The issue isn't vaccination it's UK Government law. Now you must go into hotel quarantine for 10 days if you come in from Portugal. As I understand it there are no exceptions any more for elite sportspeople.

 

Yes, there are.

 

For some reason people assume there isnt unless they see confirmation on the front page of the BBC.

You can bet your bottom dollar FOM have been right on top of this since the beginning. Do you honestly think an operation like F1 just forgets about the issue of government quarantine laws? Its as dumb as when people thought they had forgotten about marshalls just because details on how marshalling would work wasnt front page news.

[pdac]

No they wont.

 

UK Gov are suggesting all over 50s will be offered vaccine (that doesnt work well on SA variant) by end of may. How many of the team workforce are over 50? Not many, nearly all in management positions. it is a young mans game. The european season will be nearly over by the time 20 somethings are offered the first vaccine jab and it will be nearly Christmas by the time they have their second jab.

 

A bit off topic, but vaccinations for the first 4 priority cohorts is due to be completed in a few days. The next 5 cohorts covers the over 50's then it's onto those 16-49. According to this calculator, that currently means that people under 50 will get their first jab somewhere between the end of April and the beginning of June - not that far away.

[Clatter]

Yes, there are.

 

For some reason people assume there isnt unless they see confirmation on the front page of the BBC.

You can bet your bottom dollar FOM have been right on top of this since the beginning. Do you honestly think an operation like F1 just forgets about the issue of government quarantine laws? Its as dumb as when people thought they had forgotten about marshalls just because details on how marshalling would work wasnt front page news.

 

All reports at this time are saying there are no exemptions for anyone coming back from red listed countries, including elite sports people. That could be changed, but there won't be a special exemption for F1. It's what happened in Australia, and I'd say they showed it's the correct thing to do.

[FLB]

All reports at this time are saying there are no exemptions for anyone coming back from red listed countries, including elite sports people. That could be changed, but there won't be a special exemption for F1. It's what happened in Australia, and I'd say they showed it's the correct thing to do.

 

This is from gov.uk:

 

https://www.gov.uk/g...--international

Edited by FLB, 10 February 2021 - 23:24.

[Paco]

If the UK has to shutdown.. 

 

The costs would be huge.. for little purpose.  If the UK has to shut down, then shut down.. regardless of what any individual may think of the Government mandates it.. so be it. 

 

F1 isn't bigger then the law or in the welfare of causing the numbers to go up drastically... regardless of what you may think of the pandemic.

 

I would be shocked if F1 continues the season if the UK has to lockdown.  There won't be enough spare parts of current gen car let alone future advancements.  Plus, suppliers of raw materials or parts would probably also need to shut down as F1 is not an essential service (like auto parts suppliers to make nurse and doctors cars are in working order for them to get to work)

 

If the UK shuts down, so should the factories for any work not related to the health care or food sectors.  F1 should act and be responsible and follow the local mandates.  It was surprising to have a season at all in 2020. 

 

That said, the percentage of drivers that got infected was ridiculously high and just goes to show even with their tight guidelines, they weren't good enough.  

 

If UK lockdowns... so should F1.   Last thing we need is a driver or employee die after testing positive simply from a numbers perspective.  If 0.25% are at risk of severe disease.. considering the the size of the teams etc.. it would be foolish to circumvent a lockdown.  Moving 1,000-10,000 employees to other countries and away from their families for 1/2-3/4th of year just seems wrong on soooooo many levels.

 

That's my take.  

Edited by Paco, 10 February 2021 - 23:38.

[Clatter]

This is from gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/g...--international

That's from before the latest quarantine rules so may not apply.

[noikeee]

Yes, there are.

For some reason people assume there isnt unless they see confirmation on the front page of the BBC.
You can bet your bottom dollar FOM have been right on top of this since the beginning. Do you honestly think an operation like F1 just forgets about the issue of government quarantine laws? Its as dumb as when people thought they had forgotten about marshalls just because details on how marshalling would work wasnt front page news.

There's a few problems right now in football, teams having to play in neutral ground rather than in England because otherwise the continental teams coming in would have to get into quarantine. Also some talk about UK based players not being allowed to be called up by their national teams. This is all new and I think indicates a few exceptions that previously existed for elite athletes have been removed recently.

[MattK9]

A bit off topic, but vaccinations for the first 4 priority cohorts is due to be completed in a few days. The next 5 cohorts covers the over 50's then it's onto those 16-49. According to this calculator, that currently means that people under 50 will get their first jab somewhere between the end of April and the beginning of June - not that far away.

 

This BBC article is in line with my post. i.e. over 50s by May. 20 and 30 somethings to get first jab in Autumn. The article is based on 2m vaccinations per week.

 

The calculator website you linked to is based on 3m vaccinations per week and 30% of the population refusing the vaccine so is somewhat more optimistic than the BBC article.

 

This gov website say that 2.5m people were vaccinated per week for the last 2 weeks and I could find any hard data on numbers of people refusing the vaccine. So the reality is somewhere in the middle

[Rinehart]

They go straight from Portuguese GP to Spanish GP so by the time they come back to the UK it will be 8 days since they were in Portugal, technically they will be returning from Spain which is not red list... For how long will their prior trip to Portugal count? Maybe they can just hang out in Spain for a couple more days?

[pdac]

This BBC article is in line with my post. i.e. over 50s by May. 20 and 30 somethings to get first jab in Autumn. The article is based on 2m vaccinations per week.

 

The calculator website you linked to is based on 3m vaccinations per week and 30% of the population refusing the vaccine so is somewhat more optimistic than the BBC article.

 

This gov website say that 2.5m people were vaccinated per week for the last 2 weeks and I could find any hard data on numbers of people refusing the vaccine. So the reality is somewhere in the middle

 

Personally, I agree that it'll be somewhere in the middle too. I think there's quite a regional difference too. I'm sure that by the end of May there will be a lot of under 50's vaccinated (my wife is under 60 and she's already been done). But, equally, there will be a lot that won't be.

 

However, my point was that, even if younger adults are not done until June or July, it's still not that far away (the F1 season will be far from finished).

[ExFlagMan]

This BBC article is in line with my post. i.e. over 50s by May. 20 and 30 somethings to get first jab in Autumn. The article is based on 2m vaccinations per week.

 

The calculator website you linked to is based on 3m vaccinations per week and 30% of the population refusing the vaccine so is somewhat more optimistic than the BBC article.

 

This gov website say that 2.5m people were vaccinated per week for the last 2 weeks and I could find any hard data on numbers of people refusing the vaccine. So the reality is somewhere in the middle

 

Do those figures take into account the estimated 3 weeks delay before the first dose provides the protection?

[cjm321190]

Well I am 37 and had the first part of the vaccine last Monday. In the west Midlands there are a lot of BAME refusing the vaccine due to social media.

But I have no choice not worked since March 2020 with no financial assistance as self employed. Cannot travel to my clients in Singapore US or Norway. But my neighbours have been to Spain in holiday in Jan 2021 but that's another discussion.

So seems a bit random really. I live in a BAME area so maybe the people ahead of me just refused so i was next.

[ANF]

This is from gov.uk:
 
https://www.gov.uk/g...--international

"These exemptions are not valid for countries from where travel to the UK is currently banned."

Currently banned: Portugal, Brazil, UAE... https://www.gov.uk/g...anned-countries
("If you have been in or through any country on the travel ban red list in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK. If you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK, you will be able to enter. You must self-isolate for 10 days on arrival along with your household. You cannot use the Test to Release scheme.")

Edited by ANF, 11 February 2021 - 14:22.

[Garndell]

"These exemptions are not valid for countries from where travel to the UK is currently banned."

Currently banned: Portugal, Brazil, UAE... https://www.gov.uk/g...anned-countries
("If you have been in or through any country on the travel ban red list in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK. If you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK, you will be able to enter. You must self-isolate for 10 days on arrival along with your household. You cannot use the Test to Release scheme.")

Not only that but they have to pay for Hotel Quarantine for 10 days at £1,750 per person.  The RED list is why football matches are being moved out of RED countries like Portugal to Italy.

[mikeC]

A bit off topic, but vaccinations for the first 4 priority cohorts is due to be completed in a few days. The next 5 cohorts covers the over 50's then it's onto those 16-49. According to this calculator, that currently means that people under 50 will get their first jab somewhere between the end of April and the beginning of June - not that far away.

Don't believe everything you read! I'm 74 and received my 'invitation' to be vaccinated two weeks ago. The earliest appointment I have been able to make is for the 3rd March at a hospital 35 miles away, despite there being five vaccination centres within fifteen miles of my home - none of them are making appointments at the moment. I'm hoping to able able to change for a closer appointment, but that may well be for a later date - we shall see... My wife is 68 years old and has yet to receive an invitation; I can't see her first jab being before early April.

[BRG]

Don't believe everything you read! I'm 74 and received my 'invitation' to be vaccinated two weeks ago. The earliest appointment I have been able to make is for the 3rd March at a hospital 35 miles away, despite there being five vaccination centres within fifteen miles of my home - none of them are making appointments at the moment. I'm hoping to able able to change for a closer appointment, but that may well be for a later date - we shall see... My wife is 68 years old and has yet to receive an invitation; I can't see her first jab being before early April.

I had my jab yesterday and I thought I was at the back of the queue for the over 70s! 

 

I only got the NHS letter last Saturday which offered a bewildering array of sites mostly in London.  I live in Surrey but none of the sites there was offered? , My health centre had already contacted me on 28 Jan.  Earliest appointment they could offer was yesterday though.  It is a complex and massive operation and there will inevitably be glitches  and local differences. 

[Red5ive]

If the UK has to shutdown.. 

 

The costs would be huge.. for little purpose.  If the UK has to shut down, then shut down.. regardless of what any individual may think of the Government mandates it.. so be it. 

 

F1 isn't bigger then the law or in the welfare of causing the numbers to go up drastically... regardless of what you may think of the pandemic.

 

I would be shocked if F1 continues the season if the UK has to lockdown.  There won't be enough spare parts of current gen car let alone future advancements.  Plus, suppliers of raw materials or parts would probably also need to shut down as F1 is not an essential service (like auto parts suppliers to make nurse and doctors cars are in working order for them to get to work)

 

If the UK shuts down, so should the factories for any work not related to the health care or food sectors.  F1 should act and be responsible and follow the local mandates.  It was surprising to have a season at all in 2020. 

 

That said, the percentage of drivers that got infected was ridiculously high and just goes to show even with their tight guidelines, they weren't good enough.  

 

If UK lockdowns... so should F1.   Last thing we need is a driver or employee die after testing positive simply from a numbers perspective.  If 0.25% are at risk of severe disease.. considering the the size of the teams etc.. it would be foolish to circumvent a lockdown.  Moving 1,000-10,000 employees to other countries and away from their families for 1/2-3/4th of year just seems wrong on soooooo many levels.

 

That's my take.  

 

 

The UK has been in Lockdown since the end of December - nothing more drastic is going to be brought in now as infection numbers are falling fast. All manufacturing is still open etc.  The only caveat is that you should work from home if your job allows it - clearly F1 doesnt.  Or have I totally misread your post ?