Formula One announced details of its return earlier today, provoking reactions from teams and drivers alike ahead of the season opener in Austria in July.
F1 bosses confirmed that the season will kick off with two triple-headers across July and mid-August, before a double header looks set to complete the European leg of the revised calendar.
Reaction therefore has been one of excitement amongst teams and drivers as we round up the best reactions to the news that we will be back racing in a month’s time.
Amongst the first drivers to speak of their delight, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen tweeted to say that he is already ‘counting down’ the days until F1 resumes.
Counting down to the start of the 2020 @F1 season 🙌 Only 33 days left to the first race 😎 #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/bqmBbxbptd
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) June 2, 2020
Williams’ George Russell seems keen to get going judging by his tweet which simply said ‘LETTTSSS GOO!!!’
LETTTSSS GOOO!!! 🙌 https://t.co/Dqyu1arVAk
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) June 2, 2020
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz meanwhile just tweeted ‘Vamos’ as he retweeted F1’s announcement.
Vamos!! 👌🏻💪 https://t.co/Opr5lH8932
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) June 2, 2020
Several teams meanwhile seemed more excited than their drivers with Williams seemingly cracking open the countdown ticker like Verstappen has.
The countdown is on 👊#WeAreWilliams 💙 https://t.co/iChxyNKZbp
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) June 2, 2020
Racing Point meanwhile put out a series of tweets featuring the reaction of CEO, Otmar Szafnauer who was keen to ‘applaud’ the work done to get racing back underway.
“First and foremost, on a personal level and on behalf of the team, I applaud the work that has been done by all stakeholders over the past three months to get us back racing. Safety is paramount and we’re all treating our return to the racetrack responsibly.”
– Otmar [1/3] #F1
— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) June 2, 2020
“While clearly it won’t be the same without the fans in the grandstands – and we’ll sorely miss their enthusiasm and support – it’s entirely sensible to start the season behind closed doors.”
– Otmar [2/3] #F1
— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) June 2, 2020
“Doing so in Austria is particularly positive for us as a team given our ties to the country with BWT, so we’re very much looking forward to it.”
– Otmar [3/3] #F1
— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) June 2, 2020
Alpha Tauri meanwhile released a statement in which Team Principal, Franz Tost described the opportunity to get back racing again as “fantastic” and thanked Red Bull and their co-founder – Dietrich Mateschitz for helping to enable this season to begin.
Tost however is expecting a “strange” atmosphere due to no spectators being allowed to attend, also he acknowledged that “this is an important first step on getting Formula 1 back to normal as soon as possible.”
On safety measures that will be put in place, Tost described the steps as “rigorous” despite already employing them in their facilities as essential staff returned to work yesterday to prepare for the season..”
Ultimately, the Austrian concluded that F1’s return is “vital from a business point of view and also as a sign that life is getting back to normal.”
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