Early vaccination of everyone in F1 would cause a PR problem

Many countries have a coronavirus vaccination policy that is rolled out in stages across age groups, but of course there are always exceptions. Bahrain, for example, offered all its Formula 1 staff a vaccination during the winter test. A noble gesture that in itself makes sense given that people from all over the world have travelled to a central point. However, this also created a dilemma.

Tricky dilemma

The UK-based teams gave their staff the freedom to choose, either vaccinate on the circuit or according to UK protocols. So for the individual it made little difference and we know for example that Max Verstappen has already been vaccinated, while according to the Dutch phased approach it is not yet his turn.

For Formula 1, however, the situation was somewhat more awkward. In terms of continuous travel, the earlier the vaccination the better, but in terms of PR it can have a negative impact. The moment everyone in Formula 1 would be vaccinated, the effect could be that Formula 1 would have a 'special status'. This in turn could create negative headlines and of course a backlash on social media.

Not formally accepted

With the PR idea in mind, Formula One has not formally accepted the Bahraini government's offer. For example, a representative of the sport told Autosport.com that F1 had "no plans to be vaccinated as a travelling group ahead of the already established rollout of vaccines through the health system in the UK." Or in other words, they didn't want to preempt it to avoid bad PR.

This ties in with earlier words from Stefano Domenicali, who said the following about this in February: "For sure, what I can tell you, the most vulnerable are the priority. On our side, we don’t want to jump on the line of vaccination." For that reason, Formula One has informally declined, although they could very much appreciate the offer.

Domenicali: "We don’t want to be seen as the ones who have taken away that. So a lot of respect for all of what the governments are saying, and what people do, but in that respect, we need to be prudent, and the only thing I can say is that I really hope to be vaccinated soon."