By Jay Tavares-
Formula One sport will be mandating all its staff, drivers, spectators, and attending media, to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 under new FIA rules. The policy drawn up by the sport’s governing body will be incorporated into the regulations for the new season, and will apply to all drivers, teams, media and hospitality guests. It is expected that no exemptions will be granted.
The sport is designed to avoid a repeat of the Novak Djokovic fiasco that overshadowed the buildup to this month’s Australian Open. All of the grid’s current drivers are understood to be vaccinated. An F1 spokesperson said: “Formula One management will require all travelling personnel to be fully vaccinated and will not request exemptions.”
The stringent laws will freeze out sportsmen who are bent against being vaccinated, and put them in the type of challenging position Djokovic found himself, when he insisted against vaccination and found himself on the sidelines when eventually it emerged he had attended an interview with a journalist after knowing he had tested positive for Covid-19.
The tennis player’s judgement was poor, though the general consensus is that he paid more for his open objection to being vaccinated, leading to the Australian government to conclude that his presence in the tournament would fuel anto-vax sentiment
Those include the FIA medical car driver, Alan van der Merwe, who rose to prominence following his role in saving Romain Grosjean when his car burst into flames at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020. He has elected not to have the vaccine.
F1 became the first global sport to restart following the pandemic, completing a 17-race calendar in 2020 and 22 grands prix last year.
“Formula One has done an outstanding job in getting these races in and bringing fans back,” said the McLaren chief executive, Zak Brown. “We have a challenge, unlike most other sports, where we go to lots of different countries. What works in England might not work in France, and might not work in Singapore, for example. We have to continue to be flexible and adaptable and open up responsibly as the world opens up.”
The first of a record-breaking 23-round season starts in Bahrain on 20 March and concludes in Abu Dhabi nine months later. Despite the continued uncertainty due to the pandemic, F1 organizers are hopeful the 2022 calendar will not have to be amended.