Marshals don't see racing at Silverstone yet: "unnecessary burden"

The British Grand Prix could take place behind closed doors this season, but the marshals of the circuit doubt the safety of organising the race.

New calendar

Formula 1 has been working on a revising F1 calendar for weeks now. Rumour has it that there will first be two races in Austria and then two in Great Britain. There will also be very strict monitoring of the teams and staff of the FIA and the circuits to ensure that the coronavirus cannot get around during the Grands Prix.

Despite the fact that the races will probably be held without an audience, the track marshals will have to be there. Carolyn Doyle, who has worked twice as a marshal at the British GP, told The Guardian: "We are like one big family. We are there because we love it and we want to achieve the same thing – that’s what makes it really special.”

Irresponsible

Her fiancé, Keith Bond, has been working as a marshal for fifteen years. They were both selected to be marshals at the British GP in 2020. So they're a bit used to it, but say they only want to come back to the track when it's really safe.

“We did a couple of rallies before lockdown but then decided we wouldn’t attend race meetings – we just thought it wasn’t the responsible thing to do”, says Doyle.

Unnecessary burden

A Grand Prix requires about 350 to 400 marshals. On the post it is possible to do social distancing, but when a driver crashes and the marshals have to help the driver get out of his car it is impossible.

“I would feel very uncomfortable if there was an incident and a driver was taken to a hospital”, says Doyle. “Even a driver with a minor injury that requires medical attention is an unnecessary burden on the health system at the moment."