Official: Shutdown F1 teams almost doubled in April, May or June

28 April 2020 at 16:41

Last update 28 April 2020 at 22:55

GPblog.com

The Formula 1 organisation, the FIA and the teams agreed on Tuesday to extend the period during which the work at the factories is stopped. In the case of the teams, this means that the period in which they have to close the doors in the coming months will almost be doubled.

"The World Motor Sport Council has approved a further extension to the shutdown period for competitors and Power Unit manufacturers in the FIA Formula One World Championship in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic", is the statement that can be read on the FIA website.

This means that the minimum number of days that the various teams and manufacturers had to remain closed until May or June will be extended. For the teams' factories, that number has been extended from 35 days to 63 days from the time they first closed their doors.

Engine departments may start earlier

The period for the power plants to keep the doors closed has been extended from 35 days to 49 days. Therefore, if these periods are not further extended, motor development in Formula 1 will be able to start two weeks earlier.

However, all factories are already allowed to work remotely with a maximum of ten people on projects with a long lead time. For example, the design of the cars for 2022. The teams are allowed to start 50 days after the start of the shutdown period, the engine manufacturers again two weeks earlier.