F1 staff set for mandatory vaccination in 2022

While F1 bosses have successfully run two campaigns amid the COVID-19 pandemic and have recently opened the grandstands and paddock, concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant have raised concerns about other challenges ahead.

Not only does this mean question marks on future races, as the Australian Grand Prix is ​​expected to be a particular logistical issue next year due to strict quarantine requirements, but also to ensure that potential breakouts are kept at bay.

As a number of governments around the world have started pushing for mandatory vaccines, thought has been given to the need for everyone in the F1 paddock to be fully vaccinated.

In a speech at the Abu Dhabi GP, Bruno Famin, the FIA’s director responsible for the umbrella organization’s COVID-19 protocols, suggested that such an idea be evaluated.

“In terms of what will happen next year, it’s a little early because three weeks ago we all thought the pandemic was almost over and that it would just return to normal in 2022,” he told Autosport.

“But with this new variant that we have in Europe, the pandemic is unfortunately increasing sharply and the hospitals are becoming full again.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are contaminated in Europe every day and we have to be very careful.

“We know that in some places, in some countries, the compulsory vaccination is progressing at some events. We can consider that, but nothing has been decided for the time being.”

Team personnel arrive in the paddock

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

However, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali suggests that the idea has been pushed and the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has approved the idea of ​​fully vaccinating staff.

Speaking to Autosport about the COVID situation, Domenicali said: “There are many problems that need to be discussed with the teams.

“We will have to deal with the COVID problem again next year and it will not be easy. But we’ve had some super-intense seasons in the two years of the pandemic.

“After ending a season with 22 races, we are cautiously optimistic about the start of the 2022 season, in which COVID could still be present.

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“But it is no coincidence that as one of the last measures of the last FIA World Council, as a precautionary measure, all F1 employees are vaccinated in order to be in the paddock.”

F1 was one of the first series to advocate vaccination of the public when it launched a video message with drivers at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Additional quotations from Franco Nugnes