F1 deserves a pat on the back for coping with pandemic incredibly as Melbourne return nears two years after chaotic KO

IT is 754 days since Lewis Hamilton replied “cash is king” when asked why he thought F1 made the trip to Melbourne given the looming Covid virus.

Formula One will return to the Australian Grand Prix this weekend for the first time since the pandemic struck in 2020.

And Hamilton, of course, was partially right.

F1 played call-my-bluff with the local promoter over the following 18 hours as to who was going to call off the event.

Neither side wanted to pull the trigger and face the prospect of losing the race fee.

Things took a turn for the worse when a McLaren employee tested positive on the Thursday evening leading to an all-night meeting between the teams and F1.

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It was an embarrassing mess, as local radio stations urged fans to turn up for Friday’s practice sessions while F1 kept the gates closed and left them herded up outside.

The race was cancelled and the world was subsequently placed in to lockdown.

However, since that debacle at Albert Park, F1 have managed to put on 39 Grands Prix races across two seasons.

And a further two more to kick off this year’s new era and for that, I feel F1 needs a pat on the back.

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No other sport was able to get back up to speed so quickly and across so many different countries.

Naturally, there were strict protocols in place and I have had so many Covid tests that I’ve lost count.

But it really was an incredible achievement when you consider the logistics involved.

Each team normally shifts around 40 to 50 tonnes of equipment to each race.

Include the hospitality, F1’s and the FIA’s share of equipment and the total is close to 2,000 tonnes of gear. Plus staff totals are around 4,000 people for each race.

Add in the fact that all the teams are all still in business.

Plus how F1 team’s co-operated in helping produce ventilators for the NHS — not to mention delivering one of the most exciting seasons in the sport’s history — and you have to admit it is some achievement.

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The world has changed a lot since the failed Australian GP of March 2020.

I just hope we continue this season’s trend of exciting racing to pay back all those fans who were let down so badly back then.

VALENTINO ROSSI was left red-faced on his car racing debut — after driving past his pit crew in the 3 Hours of Imola endurance race.

The MotoGP legend called time on racing bikes at the end of last year and has switched to four wheels.

Things were going well for the Italian in the GT World Challenge season opener — until he needed to pit to swap drivers.

Rossi, 43, was in 13th place an hour from the end when he had to swap with team-mate Frederic Vervisch.

But he was having so much fun, he drove past his crew and was forced to complete an extra lap — losing time in the process.

His team eventually finished down in 17th place.

IMPRESSIVE reminder from Romain Grosjean, who has been showing off a sparkly helmet for his Mercedes test drive.

You will remember that the Frenchman ended up quitting F1 after his fiery smash in Bahrain in 2020.

He was promised a go in Lewis Hamilton’s title-winning Merc by boss Toto Wolff in a gesture of goodwill.

Only the French GP, where it was due to take place in 2021, was canned and now Wolff has his hands full ironing out this year’s car.

But that has not put off Grosjean — now in Indycar — who has had a special lid made.

He said: “I know everyone is asking about the Mercedes test. It hasn’t happened yet but we’ve got a helmet ready for it.”

Nice try, Romain.

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk