Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn has heaped praise on his colleagues for their efforts to race in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the sport managing to complete 17 races in 23 weeks.
From what looked like possibly no season at all in April, to a full schedule run by December, F1 has been one of the most successful major sports to operate during the pandemic, with Brawn paying tribute to F1 staffers for their successful implementation of the “biosphere” concept he had announced in May.
“This has been a remarkable year, with the Covid-19 pandemic making life challenging for everyone across the globe,” he wrote in his post-race column on the official F1 website. “It is testament to the ingenuity of the many brilliant people who work in the sport that we have been able to complete a 17-race championship.
“The rules have been tough – but they have been necessary for us to go racing.
“We’ve carried out around 80,000 PCR tests, with fewer than 100 positive results – a rate of 0.11%. That’s an impressive statistic and proves that the biosphere system worked.”
Looking ahead to next year, the sport intends to run a 23-race calendar across multiple continents, but will do so without the leadership of departing F1 CEO Chase Carey, whom Brawn singled-out for praise.
“Thank you to our CEO Chase Carey for the last four years,” Brawn started. “As an “outsider” to F1, he’s done a remarkable job of understanding the complexities and nuances of our sport.
“He’s given us a fresh perspective on the commercial side and an enthusiastic perspective on the sport itself. He’s shown true leadership in some challenging times.
“From a personal point of view, it has been a pleasure working with Chase and I’m very pleased he is going to remain part of the family as non-executive chairman.”
Starting from January 1, 2021, Carey’s post will be taken up by Stefano Domenicali, who was previously the team principal of Ferrari from 2008 to 2014.