F1 system to allow mass crowds works up till now
Jun.25 - Dr Helmut Marko has allayed fears about spectators returning to Formula 1 circuits en masse.
This weekend at Red Bull's Styrian GP venue, just 15,000 spectators are allowed under the current local restrictions.
That said, 78-year-old Marko was still seen posing for a selfie with a fan without a mask on Thursday.
"FOM is much more restrictive than the respective government, and of course we respect that," said Red Bull's F1 supremo.
"But the system works. Although we travel to so many different countries, there has been no corona case for a long time," he told Osterreich newspaper.
For the second race in Austria next weekend, restrictions ease significantly and Red Bull is expecting a full house - although Marko admitted the public may still be worried about the risk of infection.
Meanwhile, organisers of the British GP have just announced that next month's race at Silverstone has been given the green light by the UK government to fill up the grandstands.
"This is something we have all been working towards for months and I cannot wait to welcome a full capacity crowd back to Silverstone this July," said track boss Stuart Pringle.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was quoted as expressing his "huge appreciation" to the British prime minister Boris Johnson.
Seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton, though, is worried.
"Of course it's great that the best fans in the world are allowed to come back," he said.
"Unfortunately, the number of infections in England is skyrocketing. You'd have to worry about a full house so I do have mixed emotions.
"It's great that there were spectators in France and we haven't heard any bad news since then. But I'd prefer to be careful and return to normal in a more gradual way than experimenting with the fans," he added.
Fellow Briton George Russell, however, is less concerned.
"Everyone who comes in will have to be vaccinated or tested," he said. "And you have to point out that 50 Wembley Stadiums would fit into the grounds at Silverstone."
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Yippee for 'stone! It seems reasonable to REQUIRE vax and/or testing and let it rock on. We now have the medical tech to control this nasty virus. Let's use it. The key is to have 100% fan compliance. Can we get that? Hmmm. Meanwhile, keep the FOM restrictions. They seem to work.
rates rising but deaths very low, not saying Sir Kneel is being over dramatic , but for a racing driver he seems a bloody expert on everything from blm to covid and anything else he seems to mention ..
I'm not expert on blm or covid. The more that I hear, the confusder I get. Nice to have a bloody racing driver to educate me.
Too right , you should feel blessed at learning from the master of BullShite, its either Lucy or Jax, make a choice now ...
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