The fate of the Istanbul race, slated for June 11-13, is in the air after the British government put Turkey on the list of red-zone countries where returnees spend two weeks in hotel quarantine must if they return to the UK.
As it is unclear whether or not F1 employees can be exempted from the hotel quarantine requirement, the problem could prove sufficient to prevent the event from continuing.
If the UK government informed F1 that there is no exemption, the only way forward would be for UK teams not to return home after the race in Turkey and to stay in Europe instead.
They would then travel straight to the French GP on June 25th and 27th, and the Austrian GP a week later.
However, such a trip would likely result in employees being away from home and in the factories for between four and six weeks – something Steiner doesn’t think to be expected.
When asked about the prospect of sticking to the current schedule, but the employees stay on the move, Steiner said: “Everything is possible, but there is a limit to what you can ask of people.
“We have to be respectful because people don’t go home for six weeks. I don’t think that’s fair.
“I mean, it’s good to work, but at some point it’s not that the rest of the schedule is easy. It was tough last year and this year, at the end of the year, it will be tough when we win all the races, which we hope we will.
“But we don’t have to overdo it, and I don’t think that’s an option, that we just keep going for the next two months and then go home.”
Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21, on the pits
Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
F1 said over the Spanish GP weekend that it is assessing the situation surrounding the Turkish GP before deciding on the next steps.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said his outfit had full confidence that F1 boss Stefano Domenicali would make the right choice in the end.
“It is clearly not very comfortable to be quarantined in a hotel around the world for two weeks,” he said.
“So Stefano will look at how we can organize ourselves. And only when we have a clearer picture can we decide who stays on the road and who comes home. “
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