Horner about factory shutdowns: 'Duty to protect our workforce'

Published on 11 May 2020 by Bryan van Berlo

Christian Horner, team principal of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, gives an update in his column on the current situation regarding the Covid-19 virus. In the new ‘Christian’s Column’, the former racing driver talks, among other things, about the temporary shutdown of the Formula 1-factories: “For the meantime, all factories are closed, which I think is the sensible route for the FIA to take. It means that all teams are suspended from working on their cars until the end of May, so no team will gain an advantage.”

“From this week, there will be 10 people allowed to work on long lead-time items, such as gearbox designs, but at the moment it is against the rules to have anyone working on designing or producing parts for F1 cars.”

“It is the right decision, given the circumstances, and we all have a duty to protect our workforce, which is our biggest asset and that is what we will continue to do. We are lucky here at Red Bull that our campus allows us to provide people with space to social distance, we put these measures in place prior to shutdown and that is something I envisage us keeping in place when we return to work.”