F1 News

Steiner can't visit Haas factory due to quarantine rules: "Just not possible"

13 February 2021 at 16:23
Last update 13 February 2021 at 17:35
  • GPblog.com

The restrictions in place due to the coronavirus are far from over. In the run-up to the new Formula One season, this is causing serious problems for a number of teams, preventing them from preparing optimally for the start of the season.

For example, there are many travel restrictions, particularly to and from the United Kingdom. There is an exception to the quarantine rules for elite athletes, but this exception does not apply to staff members.

The Haas team is perhaps the hardest hit by this. After all, they work from three different countries: The United States, England and Italy. So because of the quarantine rules, the staff cannot travel back and forth, and Mick Schumacher has not even been able to visit his new team's factory yet.

Steiner can't visit the Haas factory

Team boss Guenther Steiner is therefore also unable to visit all the team's sites. "Normally I go back to the factory in Banbury in January or February, but now I didn't go. Everywhere I want to go I have to quarantine, and that's just not possible," Steiner told Motorsport.com.

Normally the car is built in Italy, but to avoid the need for the mechanics to travel, it is now done in Banbury. "The car is designed in Italy, and you want all the technicians to be present at the build-up. The new parts are produced partly in Italy and partly in England. Then they all go to Banbury," Steiner explains.

In addition, the designers and engineers work partly from home, so that they have to come to the factory as little as possible. This is quite a challenge for the team, which does not have the most resources at its disposal anyway.