Next week the Formula 1 season will finally start, but the calendar is not the only aspect affected by the coronavirus. Christian Horner therefore wonders how he should behave at the end of a race.
Normally when a driver crosses the line first, we can expect a fixed ritual. The people of the team in question fall into each other's arms, there is shouting and during the podium ceremony hands are shaken and trophies are awarded.
This year it will only be very different during the post-race procedure. The organization of Formula 1 would rather not want the mechanics to fall into each other's arms. "The strangest part of the F1 season this year will be the calendar or the post-race procedure. What do you have to do there? Give yourself an elbow after a good score with one or two of your drivers," Christian Horner wonders in a column on the Red Bull website.
Lots of emotion
The team boss thinks it will be a difficult moment for many people involved within the teams. "There's always a lot of emotion at the end of a race. This will require the highest level of discipline." In many football competitions a similar discipline was asked for, but after a few matches some players had already forgotten about it and they were celebrating as usual.
The Austrian Grand Prix is also a circuit where Red Bull Racing has done well over the past few years, with victories for Max Verstappen in 2018 and 2019. Possibly Horner will have to hold back soon after the race.