No travel curbs for Formula One teams

LONDON • Formula One is working to put on a British Grand Prix in July even if the country imposes quarantine measures on visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

British tabloid The Sun quoted a government source as saying on Sunday night that there will be an exemption for professional sports, with F1 and Premier League teams free to travel from Britain and return without restrictions once and if competition resumes.

It said that all athletes, staff and vested parties are to undergo a rigorous testing regime and must isolate themselves immediately if they test positive for Covid-19.

F1 sources told Reuters that conversations with the government were ongoing over whether measures to curb the spread of the disease will affect plans to get the season, which has yet to start, under way in July.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised address to the nation on Sunday that "it will soon be the time... to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air".

An association representing UK airlines said the government was planning a 14-day quarantine period by the end of this month for most people arriving from abroad to try to avoid a second wave of the outbreak.

Manchester City and Chelsea are still in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Manchester United and Wolves are also at the same stage in the Europa League.

Quarantine has big implications not only for the quartet of Premier League clubs, who will require an exemption to travel to and from away ties, but for F1 as well.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is scheduled for July 19, the weekend after teams complete a planned double-header in Austria on July 5 and 12.

The race will be a 70th anniversary for F1 at the circuit which hosted the first world championship race in 1950.

Seven of the 10 F1 teams are based in Britain and would be returning from a secure environment in Austria where they would have been effectively isolated for two weeks and repeatedly tested.

F1 managing director Ross Brawn outlined last week some of the measures set to be implemented for the season-opening races.

"Everybody will be tested and will have a clearance before they even go into the paddock, and then every two days they'll be tested whilst in the paddock and that will be with an authorised authority and consistent," he told Sky Sports.

"We'll have restrictions on how people move around... we have to create an environment that, within itself is effectively a small bubble of isolation.

"The teams will stay within their own groups. They won't mingle with other teams, and they'll stay at their own hotels."

However, if the 14-day quarantine is still active in July, it could be another speed bump for F1, especially if other European nations adopt something similar, as organisers are planning to host as many as 18 races over a six-month period, The Independent reported.

Alex Wurz, the chairman of Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said: "If half of the paddock was stuck in quarantine, that would throw a spanner in the gearbox of going racing in July."

REUTERS