Why Austria's success doesn't mean F1 is out of the woods
Formula 1 may have made a successful return in Austria utilising its strict COVID-19 safety measures, but the uncertain future the virus still poses, writes JONATHAN NOBLE, could cause the series more headaches further down the line
Formula 1 could rightly feel proud of itself after its Austrian double-header, having laid out a blueprint for the world on how global sporting events can take place amid the threat of coronavirus.
To have successfully pulled off a two-week stint at the Red Bull Ring, with the 2000 people present having gone through 10,000 COVID-19 swab tests without a single positive result, was testament to the strict protocols that F1 and the FIA put in place.
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Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
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