The Formula 1 bubble has become a
biosphere
.
This is how the FIA and the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi organizers have called the closed ecosystem through which the last three races of the season will be held, with two countries focused on ensuring that the grand prizes are safe.
Among the changes, to begin with, upon landing in Bahrain's capital Manama, it was mandatory to undergo a PCR in a huge temporary facility set up by the government.
Afterwards, the nearly 2,000 F1 and F2 workers had to go to their hotels to wait in isolation for the result.
It is mandatory to use
a mobile application that records movements and possible contacts with positives,
for which it is necessary to unlock the location of the phone at all times.
For two weeks in this country, F1 personnel will pass up to six different COVID-19 tests and in the event of a positive test, they will have to undergo 14 days of isolation.
The real revolution comes in Abu Dhabi: for the first time this year,
travel to a race can only be done via charter flights organized by the FIA
and not by commercial flights, and it is only possible to hire hotels previously booked by F1.
In addition, upon landing on December 7, teams, drivers, organization and Press are required to pass another test at the airport (Terminal 3 in Abu Dhabi is exclusively enabled for F1) and wait for the negative result up to 24 hours after.
Yas Marina in full confinement
The island of Yas Marina, where the circuit that will host the last GP of the year is located, will be perimeter confined and it will not be possible to access from the rest of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, nor from Dubai.
Whoever leaves the
biosphere will
not be able to return.
With this intensive protocol, F1 will get rid of a mandatory 14-day quarantine with a location bracelet, like those used in house arrests.
There is hardly an exception for those who have to travel directly to Abu Dhabi without going through Bahrain:
four PCR tests during the twelve days prior to the flight, 48 hours of quarantine upon arrival and a final final PCR test.
In the end, whoever has attended the last three races will have, in 21 days, about nine tests.
No one said ending the pandemic season was easy.
