Silverstone wants to use vaccination passports to allow fans at GP

F1 News

9 April 2021 at 08:25
Last update 9 April 2021 at 10:13
  • GPblog.com

Silverstone wants to try to allow fans back in during the 2021 Grand Prix, scheduled for July 18. This is according to a letter sent to the major political parties.

The letter has been signed by several organisations including the Football Association, Premier League and England and Wales Cricket Board. In it, they write that they want to work closely with the events research programme to explore ways in which fans can return to the circuit.

"The return of fans will provide a huge boost to millions who enjoy a day out to a sporting event with their friends and family and make a major contribution to the economy", the letter reads, reported by Motorsportweek. "It is right that every possible action is considered to achieve this outcome as soon as possible, but only while an unrestricted return is considered unsafe for fans, race staff and the general public."

Silverstone wants to deploy testing and vaccination passports 

Vaccination is moving very quickly in England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a roadmap out of lockdown. In it, all restrictions are forecast to be removed on the 21st June. The government are aiming to offer a vaccination to every adult by July 31. That would be good news for Formula 1, as most people will already have been vaccinated ahead of the British Grand Prix. Silverstone also wants to use testing and vaccination passports to ensure safety.

Fans of Formula 1 will be keeping a keen eye on the pilot events taking place in sport over the next month. 4,000 people will be in Wembley for the FA Cup Semi-final on April 18. Plus 8,000 people at the League Cup final on April 25 and 21,000 at the FA Cup final on May 15.

Starting next week, the World Snooker Championship will have a 33% capacity crowd, which will gradually rise to a 100% capacity crowd for the final on May 2 and 3. All crowd members will have to produce a negative test before entry to the venues and they will be tested again five days after their event. Assessments of the way the crowd react to any measures will be made. If they are successful, more events will take place with fans in the UK including the British Grand Prix.