Some Formula 1 teams are reportedly concerned by the plans of several races to bring fans back to the grandstands later this year.
So far, the first six races of 2020 have all taken place behind closed doors due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, while the next two at Spa and Monza follow will suit.
However, Mugello hasn’t completely ruled out a limited crowd for its first F1 race, while from Sochi onwards, many races are also considering crowd sizes of upto 50% capacity.
“For three months we have not been engaged in ticket sales at all,” Alexey Titov, the Executive Director of Russian Grand Prix promoter Rosgonki, recently told Motorsport.com.
“Now they are slowly resuming, taking into account the government’s announcement that the race will take place, and with our recent announcement of the entertainment program.
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“It is probably premature to talk about the current number of sold tickets, but the picture is more clear about general restrictions due to coronavirus situation.
“At the moment, we’re discussing the figure of 50% of the total capacity of the Olympic Park – that is, our stands and the Olympic Park as a whole.
“This will mean that the maximum number of fans will be no more than 30,000 to 32,000.”
Nurburgring, Portimao, Imola and Abu Dhabi are also known races planning a limited attendance, but with the F1 teams themselves still in their ‘bubbles’, albeit with slightly higher numbers of permitted personnel from this weekend, the thought of mass gatherings is worrisome.
“According to our information, several teams are concerned about this and fear for the health of their crews,” Germany’s Bild am Sonntag was quoted as reporting.
Portimao boss Paulo Pinheiro has offered a glimpse though at the type of measures that will be put in place to prevent the race becoming a Covid spreader.
“It is about not overworking our system, at 50,000, the pressure is significantly lower,” he told SpeedWeek.
“Just because spectators will be allowed doesn’t mean that everything will be allowed.
“When you buy a ticket, you get it sent to your home along with numerous rules that you have to agree to.
“For example, if you come from Germany, you can land at the airport in Faro.
“You are told where to take a rental car, on which road you come to the race track and where to park there. There, an official will pick you up and show you which entrance you are going through to your grandstand seat.
“People always have to wear a mask and regularly disinfect their hands. The mask may only be removed for eating and drinking. If you have to go to the toilet, you have to do it in consultation with the officials.
“We’re going to have a big event, but everyone has to follow the rules, we are the test dummy for all future major events, so the fans have to behave correctly.”
Despite the return of fans gradually getting closer though, the uncertainty that remains over how the coronavirus will evolve heading into 2021 is worrying races that were cancelled this year, notably the returning Dutch GP at Zandvoort.
“There is only one certainty, and that is the virus has the world in its grip. As much as we would like to answer all the questions, at the moment the virus remains,” Sporting Director Jan Lammers told RacingNews365.
“So much can happen in the coming months. We would like to give concrete answers but we simply do not have them at the moment and a lot can still happen in the meantime.
“We will be faced with a dilemma: should we consider finishing the race without spectators? The Grand Prix at Zandvoort is not an event to be held without fans, we sold too many tickets for that,” he added.
“Formula One Management (FOM) knows that we are ready and are aware that an event here at Circuit Zandvoort, without any spectators, will be very painful.”