A Formula One boss tried to plan a 'camp' to deliberately infect his drivers with coronavirus so they'd be 'ready' when the season starts
03/30/2020- Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko says he planned a "camp" for his drivers to deliberately contract the coronavirus so that they would be "ready" for when the Formula One season eventually begins.
- The first eight races of the F1 Championship have been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning the opening race will now take place in June at the earliest.
- "[This] would be the ideal time for the infection to come," the Austrian told television channel ORF. "These are all strong young men in really good health."
- Marko added that his proposal "has not been well received" by the rest of Red Bull's management.
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Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko says he planned a "camp" for his drivers to deliberately contract the coronavirus so that they would be "ready" for when the Formula One season resumes.
The first eight races of the F1 season have been called off due to the COVID-19 crisis, meaning the opening race will now take place in June at the earliest.
"We have four Formula 1 drivers and eight or 10 juniors, and the idea was that we would organize a camp to mentally and physically bridge the dead time," Marko — who leads Red Bull's driver development programme — told Austrian television channel ORF.
"And that would be the ideal time for the infection to come. These are all strong young men in really good health.
"That way they would be prepared whenever the action starts, and you can be ready for what will probably be a very tough championship once it starts.
"If there is a racing season with 15 to 18 races, it will be very, very tough. There is no possibility to improve your fitness during the season. So it's actually ideal to use this time now."
Marko said that his proposal was rejected by the rest of Red Bull's management, adding: "Let's put it this way: it has not been well received."
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