F1 teams and engine manufacturers keep their doors even longer closed

As a result of the coronavirus, all teams closed their factories for a certain period of time. In some cases this was initially on the orders of the government, but later it was decided to bring the summer holidays forward. As the pandemic continues, a new measure has now been announced: the holidays will last longer.

Longer closure

In some countries the measures are being relaxed, but still the teams' employees get longer holidays and the engine manufacturers keep their doors closed longer. Auto, Motor und Sport reports that the teams now have 63 days' holiday instead of 35 days and that the closure at the engine manufacturers will now take 49 days instead of 35.

With a planned start to the season in July, there will be plenty of room to get to work before the first race. However, it does vary a bit from team to team, as not every team announced a closure at the same time. Teams that started their 'summer holidays' at the beginning of April, for example, will now have to stay closed until June.

Exceptions

All teams have agreed to an extension, AMuS writes. However, there is an exception to the rules, because as soon as the 50 days after shutdown are passed, a maximum of ten employees are allowed to start working again on projects that have a long lead time. The condition is that this does not affect aerodynamics.

In order to make sure that this is not tampered with, the teams must register the names of the employees in question as well as their position and the project with the FIA. The same applies to the engine manufacturers and an application must be submitted at least ten days in advance.