The Covid-19 pandemic that is still raging around the world will push F1 to adopt personnel protection measures which will be imperative to avoid positive cases of the virus over the course of the season, which will largely take place behind closed doors.
Toto Wolff is not worried, it is clearly a question of knowing how to adapt.
“I think we know what to do, I think we know that protecting our staff and everyone involved is the number one priority. But also, it’s a new environment, we’ve never been in this situation . We’re talking about a lot of bubbles, less interaction with other teams, for you media and for fans, it will be a new experience. “
“F1 has always been able to draw the positive, and if we are able to provide a great show on Saturday and Sunday, I think that will compensate for the strangeness of these weekends,” said the director. of Mercedes F1.
If some F1 players have revealed that they appreciated the extra time spent at home, Wolff admits that he did not have this impression: “It was really surreal, and everyone who tells me they like spending more time at home … I don’t believe so, because we live in a fast-paced environment.”
“We work in a kind of setting, we know when we go on a run, we know when we go back to the office and we know when we get home. Suddenly, it’s like unplugging an outlet. We miss competition this rhythm. “
And the Austrian admits that he has been busy with many discussions on the future of F1: “Oh yes, we were not bored between us, the bosses, with the FIA and F1. The cost cap reviewed since 2021 forces the big teams and in particular Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull to adapt faster and more strongly than expected. “
“We have to change the processes, review how we do things, how we develop, how we spend on innovation and R&D. It was like Everest going up and it was the project that occupied most of we.”
Another unknown for Wolff is the hierarchy from Austria. Mercedes is given a favorite but its director does not want to trust the performances seen in Barcelona: “I think it’s always a risk to assume that what you see in test is going to be performance on the track. If you look at 2019 and what happened in Australia, it was totally different.”
“So we went to Australia [cette année] not to live an easy race, but to face some competition. You could see the eagerness of some to race, because they felt they had a good car. “
“In this regard, I have no doubt that these will be the usual suspects. Perhaps with a few surprises, I am thinking in particular of Racing Point which has a very solid car and which has achieved promising times in Barcelona. I have no doubt that McLaren and Renault will play a role. “
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