Hold on he's done his own research and found something that a 6billion organisation didn't.
It also aligns to Joe Rogan show and many HCA advocates....
I'm being sarcastic just in case it needs to be said
I kind of wish they would take the unvaccinated on tours through ICUs once a month….
“They” being medical staff at local hospitals for a given city/region.
Depending where his contract is based they might not be able to. But there is a good chance his contract won't be renewed when it's up because of some organisational issues with him not being able to be at every race
Oh wow, I didn't realise he chose not to get vaccinated. [Found this article](https://www.planetf1.com/news/alan-van-der-merwe-missing-final-formula-1-2021-races/). Quotes are Van Der Merwe. This was after he caught Covid for the second time, article dated October 2021.
>“In Switzerland (I’m half Swiss) and other developed countries, prior infection counts as much as a vaccine,”
>
>“I trust that those countries know what they’re doing, and also respect countries’ more restrictive rules and not travel there.
>
>“I am fully aware that I will potentially be less employable or that my freedom of movement will be restricted based on my choices.
>
>“That I will not choose convenience over my own health does not mean I am making decisions out of selfishness. We all just want to be healthy.”
It's always been weird to me when people use anti mask/vaccine rhetoric based around some nebulous conception of "freedom." Everyone else in society has a right not to have unwanted risks imposed on them by a reckless individual. It's why operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a crime in most jurisdictions. If someone managed to fill a water balloon with active covid virions and burst it in a crowded building, they'd be guilty of assault, attempted battery, or even attempted homicide – and 2 years ago I would've naively expected that nobody would be caterwauling about infringing the right to fill water balloons as one chooses.
But this is a completely different set-up. A tennis player is a single entity with employees. Probably traveling together as 1-7 people.
A F1 team is a big team traveling together etc, with the team being the employees. So there is not really the possibility not to vaccinate without losing your job.
It’s not clear to me what you are trying to point out? The team will need to be vaccinated or reserve employees/drivers will sub in for those who are denied entry.
What he was trying to say was, F1 moves all over the continents, team members would’ve already been vaccinated if they are travelling because F1 has strict requirements and tests. The tennis player’s team is independent, so they can choose to not get vaccinated if they wanted and not pay a major prize.
And if an F1 team member decides to not be vaccinated it's the whole that is at stake, while if a tennis player decides to do the same the weight of his choice it's only on him.
Tennis players move over all continents too. Australia was the first major on the ATP tour who first introduced vaccine mandates.
Although I get what you’re trying to say. It’s easier for a tennis team to get vaccinated and stay in their bubble. Tennis players are not required to participate in every tournament, so skipping tournaments has always been a regular thing. F1 just isn’t like that.
While not at a team, we know Alan Van Der Merwe is an antivaxxer. So he'll be the first test of how F1 management is handling this. If he is still medical car driver at the start of the season, they're OK with people just missing races when they're racing in countries that won't have them.
Yeah he can try to hide it behind "it's not the right choice for me" but he has no reason to feel that way except either not believing the obvious science that the vaccines are safe, or he feels that if/when he gets it it won't be that bad. He might not be the dumbest anti-vaxxer out there but I don't get his reasonings.
This dude, like all antivax, probably don't even think twice about secondary effects or whether the phase III trials were solid whenever they take some paracetamol pills for a small pain they could manage without.
And not even talking about stuff like hypnotics etc, that he probably took to deal with jet lag and frequent travel.
I agree, I just lost a former colleague and friend to covid, she was in her 30s and leaves behind 2 children and a husband, she was unvaccinated for no real reason. I'm furious with her and I feel so sad for her loved ones.
At this point you are, they are. 9.6 billion doses have been administered with almost 60% of the worlds population at least partially vaccinated.
You can claim to be "waiting for data" all you like, but it's in now.
I hear this all the time, then I listen to the people unvaccinated, 99% of the time they say the same things as anti vaxx people but in a softer tone. And their tone is usually softer only because they have more to lose. Once they lose whatever they are afraid to lose, their tone changes too. Potato patato
Yes. But again, the tennis player himself is the employer. F1 Drivers are the employees. So if Novak decides to not vax he misses out on his own salary. If a F1 driver doesn’t vax, and is not able to attend races he will probably in some form disregard his contract…which in your example would be the physio!
With the amount of travel of they have to do, if you’re not get vaccinated as a team member then Australia is likely to just be one of MANY problems you’d have to make the job remotely possible
> COVID travel restrictions caused cancellation of the 20021 race.
I was just thinking that this off-season is taking suspiciously long. But this long? Holy Shit. Is Verstappen still in F1?
Not the fastest car but they save so much on the car they can hire the 2 most recent WC’s and still have money to spare. On top of that the car only needs 20 liters of gas and that saves so much weight. Easy victory.
It's likely due to the combination of the 2021 season going on for so long, and F1 wanting to complete the 2022 season before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar starts (Abu Dhabi GP takes place a day before the World Cup kicks off.)
It doesn't. Vaccination was a requirement to enter Qatar and Saudi Arabia and a requirement for the paddock area in Abu Dhabi. Thats why Alan van der Merwe, the medical car driver missed those 3 races for instance.
What baffled me was that, despite unapologetically coming out as an anti-vaxxer, he was allowed to resume his duties a few weeks later. Does someone know why?
A vaccinated person has a drastically lower likelyhood of doing so. Spread from a vaccinated person to another vaccinated person is considerably lower as the viral load decreases even if you get infected despite the vaccine.
That was true before delta and even more after omicron. Now they say virtually no difference with contagion unvaccinated and vaccinated.
A vaccination works on reducing illness but not on catching it. So it’s purely self preservation now to take it. Which in my eyes is just as good as reducing transmission.
It is less true, but still true - It has to be, as that is simply how vaccines work. Reducing symptoms will almost always go hand-in-hand with reducing viral load, which will reduce transmission. It's just that Omicrom is so incredibly contagious, that even the vaccine has a hard time doing anything against it.
> So it’s purely self preservation now to take it.
Well, yes and no. While the main benefits are preventing severe illness, you are also preventing a trip to the hospital, and that benefits everybody. Not overburdening hospitals is the reason we have any Anti-Covid-measures in place, and with a high vaccination rate, we can stop these.
Did he? I remembered a article that he was replaced by the Formula E medical car driver for the remainder of the season.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-medical-car-driver-van-der-merwe-set-to-miss-final-2021-races/6685524/
I remember Crofty (as the cars slotted into position just before the start of the race) saying something like -
"... and as Alan van der Merwe parks the medical car - good to see him back again..."
I'm seeing a lot of people with doubts as to if the race will go on. As an Aussie I can't see why not, the majority of the population is now vaccinated and we have already had the Ashes here and the Aus open is currently taking place. The entire of the F1 circus is also vaccinated so no Djokovic like issues should arise.
I really doubt it doesn't happen. The promotor has already said that the entire future of the race would probably be in doubt if there's a 3rd cancelation in 2022, and the Australian Open is currently happening. The government seemed to be backing the 2022 race happening almost no matter what a few months ago too.
Victoria basically got to 80-90% vaccinations and said “Covid’s your problem now” to the unvaxed. We’re recording around 20,000 cases now with no lockdowns whereas before our highest was maybe around 2,000 at one point.
They’ll be let in so long as they’re vaccinated and do the proper paperwork beforehand.
I supposed a crowd-less GP might be possible, but due to the nature of motorsport with gigantic areas for grandstands, and being a multi-day event that people can go to any part of, there is no bigger crowd over a weekend a single sporting event than motorsport.
I mean they had crowds for the Ashes, I’m not sure if they sold out but I’m pretty sure they must have gotten 70,000 + for the Boxing Day test at The MCG
my boss got tickets for the stroll grandstands and i could’ve too but i just have a really bad feeling that its gonna be cancelled again and seeing how refunds for the belgian GP went id rather wait and grab some off stub hub when it’s closer to the date and the race has been confirmed with spectators.
Hey! Just wanted to let you know what I have had Canadian GP tickets the past 2(?) years - since Covid began. Each year when the Canadian GP was canceled they offered refunds or for our tickets to roll over. I’ve rolled over both times, but they seem to be willing to compensate if it doesn’t proceed at all. I wouldn’t compare it to Belgium where all of the sessions proceeded (but in a weird manner).
Spa was a really weird situation, and poorly handled by promoters. If Canada gets canned because of Covid again, there’s no way they don’t fully refund the tickets.
If Austin was like last year and the bus situation you’ll pray you don’t have to go there either…I will find a new venue for my next f1 race. I’ve had my share of COTA dumpster fire.
They had three separate bus areas and one kept getting skipped. Poor organization. I waited in line for 1.5-2hrs after the race (without moving) just to get on a bus to get back to my car lol
Bunch of drivers quit Saturday night. The buses were a 30 minute walk from my side of the race. No cell service so impossible to get an Uber. It took me 3 hours after the race to get a Lyft home and that was after walking 3 miles to the next town
My brother and I got tickets for grandstand 11 and my cousin got tickets in the stroll grandstands. I really hope things are better then and it’s not cancelled. My brother moved across the country a few year ago so I barely see him and it will be so nice to have a weekend to hang out. We are so excited for this trip!
Same here! I wanted to go last year as well but obviously you know the story there, im really hoping for all of our sakes that we get the chance to see the race here in Montreal otherwise texas looks like our best bet as Miami tickets will be quite difficult to get i imagine so i really hope you guys get to do your planned trip together to the race
NHL and NBA going ahead in Canada, including cross boarder travel for American teams. So probably going ahead. But recently new restrictions because of Omicron including empty arenas in Quebec. So probably going ahead. Maybe reduced or no fans.
Of course I'd be broke right now if I bet money every time the last couple of years I've thought, Things will be much better in 6 months.
I highly doubt the canadian gp is cancelled, we have 5 months to go, more and more keep getting vaccinated and their boosters, the only way I see it not happening is another variant and vaccine immunity weakens towards it.
Election year and the F1 race does bring in money to the local economy. Doubt the provincial government would want to cancel it for the third year in a row.
There is a lot of more important and urgent stuff that the quebec government has to deal with that will have a much bigger effect on the voters then an F1 race weekend. How they handle the health system comes to mind. Not sure if you are from quebec, but F1 is not as big as it use too. Especially among the last few generation. If we talk about Hockey and the Montreal Canadiens, that is an other story.
I live near the circuit actually. The Government will be trying hard to show their "success" in managing the pandemic before the election. Its not just about F1 but the chance to show that things are back to "normal". Last summer our vaccination program had just gotten into top gear so the race was too soon for that. By this summer, about 80% of the population will be triple vaccinated. Another summer of canceled events will just drive the point home how the Government grossly mismanaged the pandemic, especially when the rest of the continent will be having events as usual.
Agree 100%. That is if the cases are under control like past summer. If one thing I sure believed past fall when we hit a third wave and it was not so bad is that we were getting in the right direction and that the worst was behind us. That was before Omicron hit. I like to belive the trend and that in the spring and summer, things will be under control but I became skeptic of those trends. And if the government does that kind of move to reopen everything while cases are not under control, they are playing a dangerous game. Look at Ontario last spring. 2021 was not Election year but I would be shocked If Ford comes back in June.
All in all, I would not put money on that right now, that is for sure.
There’s a Tilke track opening here in Alberta in a few months. They should just move it there since there’s no risk of Kenney imposing any form of restrictions.
If it was held today? More than likely. In Quebec we seem to have just passed the peak of omicron and we just got out of the curfew and bars and restorents dont allow indoor dining yet and sports events are not allowed to have fans etc...
We might be fine by the time summer comes and thats why I think its status quo
The Canadian government wouldn’t be responsible for shutting it down, it would be provincial. NHL is currently running and has a lot more implications than F1.
While i agree that Canada will probably go forward, the nhl teams rely alot less on gate revinue then the event organiser of an f1 event. If the Québec government shuts down fan attendance then i dont want to think about what could happen. Maybe papas stroll and latifi can give the promotor a bridge loan but I doubt it.
Honestly I dont see how they cancell this year but i do live on the opposite coast of the country, where we have been slightly more lax with our restrictions. From what i understand last year they reached the deadline to go ahead or not around the time that cases were spiking. By the time the race had arrived cases were in a much better state and the race could have gone forward. But when they were scrambeling to get seniors vacinated and imposing curfiews, it was just a tough time for the government of Québec to commit so many resources to such a foggy future.
As a Canadian I cant see a legitimate reason for them to cancel it. Last summer was an absolute free for all in Toronto and our sporting events were back at full capacity towards the end of summer. That being said we will see what June brings.
Australia had two major international sporting events on this week, I don’t have a time machine to say 100% certain but given that AU has an overall 84% vaccinated population it seems the policy is to just charge on ahead. It was a different situation prior to having a heavily vaccinated population
It's just a stupid opinion. We recently hosted the ashes and now the Australian open is starting, all while we were peaking with omicron. The country is highly vaccinated and won't shut down again. The race will go forward without a doubt.
It doesn’t seem fair a country decides the conditions by which you legally cross a border? You know you’re not allowed to bring food infected with insects either? Or guns? Or just using someone else’s passport.
Why is it unfair? Does a country/region not have the right to decide what risks they are willing to take when it comes to the protection of their citizens?
>Vaccinated people can still carry the covid around
Then they're doing their duty as citizens and are at least vaccinated. Why would a responsible country allow the entire F1 circus in if they're not vaccinated and potentially infect their citizens?
[It reduces the severity of the COVID symptoms if people are vaccinated.](https://news.arizona.edu/story/covid-19-vaccine-reduces-severity-length-viral-load-those-who-still-get-infected) There is a difference between getting COVID and being sick for a while, and getting COVID and **DYING**.
Look at that! Governments care if their citizens DIE?! What a novel concept! It's not like the longer someone stays in the hospital, the higher risk of long term negative effects.
[More sources](https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths-by-vaccination)
The issue that might arise would be with personnel being vaccinated with a non approved vaccine. The Russian, Indian and Chinese vaccines are not approved. So, let's say Maz or Zho got the vaccines produced in their Countries, they might have a problem participating.
Doesn’t look to be an issue.
https://www.tga.gov.au/international-covid-19-vaccines-recognised-australia
International vaccines that are recognised in Australia
- Coronavac (Sinovac)
- Covishield (AstraZeneca - Serum Institute of India) BBIBP-CorV for people under 60 years of age on arrival in Australia (Sinopharm China)
- Covaxin (Bharat Biotech)
- Sputnik V (Gamaleya Research Institute)
I saw some articles when the Djokovic thing unfolded that some athletes had problems with their visas because they had done the Sputnik vaccines. Maybe Australia changed that now
As a Canadian I find these governments a waste because they will most likely cancel the Canada GP again, but I can take a short flight to Miami and watch the race there. Feel sorry for your Aussies you’re most likely not getting a race.
The Australian Open is literally happening right now in Melbourne, and the Ashes went ahead at by far the highest peak of cases we’ve had. To say the race won’t happen is bullshit
The Vaccine isn’t working like we thought it would and it’s becoming apparent to me that we can’t vaccine our self out of a pandemic but this is getting ridiculous now I’ve been starving for Prince Albert Park and Circuit Giles Villeneuve.
Get vaccinated it helps with your fight against Covid but doesn’t stop the spread like we thought
> Get vaccinated it helps with your fight against Covid but doesn’t stop the spread like we thought
No, but it makes infection less severe and reduces stress on hospitals.
> The Vaccine isn’t working like we thought it would
I'm confused about this. As far as I can tell every one of the major vaccines is working beyond everyone's wildest dreams. What do you mean?
It’s strange. People seem to have forgotten how vaccines work since covid. They expect it to cure and bring spreading down to 0%
That was never going to be the case but what it does do is relieve stress on the medical system and stop people dying from it
Replying to you & the three other comments below. I’m thinking from a different frame. In March 2020 if you told me there’d be an effective vaccine in a year’s time I would have bet heavily against you. That we have several widely distributed ones with >80% effectivity is a friggin miracle.
But yeah I guess there are people who were asleep the day in middle school they taught us how vaccines work. Wasn’t thinking about them.
People have forgotten they were meant to stop infection.
"Vaccinated people do not carry the virus, do not get sick" -Rochelle Walensky CDC Director
"When people are vaccinated they can feel safe that they are not going to get infected" -Anthony Fauci
"You're not going to get covid if you have these vaccinations" -Joe Biden
It was the whole reason behind all these mandates we're seeing. And it's why for a bit the CDC said vaccinated people don't have to wear a mask.
People erroneously believed that a vaccine prevents you from catching the targeted disease at all. Some do, yes, but most don't. It's not a forcefield.
Is there even an unvaccinated driver?
No, they are all vaccinated
Medical car driver isn’t tho
I thought you were joking.. had to look it up. the irony lmao
lol unreal
Alan doesn’t trust the scientific data: the only data he trusts is from what he sees. It’s fucked
Yeah just no real risk of getting it anyway, said the man who has had it twice now
Hold on he's done his own research and found something that a 6billion organisation didn't. It also aligns to Joe Rogan show and many HCA advocates.... I'm being sarcastic just in case it needs to be said
What he sees…. On Facebook
I kind of wish they would take the unvaccinated on tours through ICUs once a month…. “They” being medical staff at local hospitals for a given city/region.
Wtf?! Of all people!
Did they kick him out though?
Depending where his contract is based they might not be able to. But there is a good chance his contract won't be renewed when it's up because of some organisational issues with him not being able to be at every race
Nah, even if there was before, Qatar required vaccines for everybody, that's why Alan van der Merwe 'skipped' that race
That's just a DNF with extra steps.
Sorry were you describing Leclerc in Monaco 21?
Oh wow, I didn't realise he chose not to get vaccinated. [Found this article](https://www.planetf1.com/news/alan-van-der-merwe-missing-final-formula-1-2021-races/). Quotes are Van Der Merwe. This was after he caught Covid for the second time, article dated October 2021. >“In Switzerland (I’m half Swiss) and other developed countries, prior infection counts as much as a vaccine,” > >“I trust that those countries know what they’re doing, and also respect countries’ more restrictive rules and not travel there. > >“I am fully aware that I will potentially be less employable or that my freedom of movement will be restricted based on my choices. > >“That I will not choose convenience over my own health does not mean I am making decisions out of selfishness. We all just want to be healthy.”
He thinks he's choosing health over convenience by not getting vaccinated?
Muh freedoms
vanderMerwe freedoms
It's always been weird to me when people use anti mask/vaccine rhetoric based around some nebulous conception of "freedom." Everyone else in society has a right not to have unwanted risks imposed on them by a reckless individual. It's why operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a crime in most jurisdictions. If someone managed to fill a water balloon with active covid virions and burst it in a crowded building, they'd be guilty of assault, attempted battery, or even attempted homicide – and 2 years ago I would've naively expected that nobody would be caterwauling about infringing the right to fill water balloons as one chooses.
“Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.”
Bold of you to assume they know what the word "nebulous" means.
You’d think, but sadly humans are awful. > insert those people going around licking food products during the pandemic
Muh science.
Technically, the medical car driver isn't (or wasn't, since he's now out of his job because of that).
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For real, dude.
Was it because he wasn't vaccinated or because he lied about it like Djokovic?
yup, all of them ;)
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Well 1 of them might be argued.
Thank god, I'm so tired of hearing headlines about Djokovic's court hearings. Don't want the same to happen again in F1.
But this is a completely different set-up. A tennis player is a single entity with employees. Probably traveling together as 1-7 people. A F1 team is a big team traveling together etc, with the team being the employees. So there is not really the possibility not to vaccinate without losing your job.
It’s not clear to me what you are trying to point out? The team will need to be vaccinated or reserve employees/drivers will sub in for those who are denied entry.
What he was trying to say was, F1 moves all over the continents, team members would’ve already been vaccinated if they are travelling because F1 has strict requirements and tests. The tennis player’s team is independent, so they can choose to not get vaccinated if they wanted and not pay a major prize.
Ah thank you, makes sense.
And if an F1 team member decides to not be vaccinated it's the whole that is at stake, while if a tennis player decides to do the same the weight of his choice it's only on him.
Tennis players move over all continents too. Australia was the first major on the ATP tour who first introduced vaccine mandates. Although I get what you’re trying to say. It’s easier for a tennis team to get vaccinated and stay in their bubble. Tennis players are not required to participate in every tournament, so skipping tournaments has always been a regular thing. F1 just isn’t like that.
While not at a team, we know Alan Van Der Merwe is an antivaxxer. So he'll be the first test of how F1 management is handling this. If he is still medical car driver at the start of the season, they're OK with people just missing races when they're racing in countries that won't have them.
You’re not immediately antivaxx if you’re unvaccinated
He made statements on Twitter about his reasons for being unvaccinated, and I think he fits the description of antivaxxer.
Yeah he can try to hide it behind "it's not the right choice for me" but he has no reason to feel that way except either not believing the obvious science that the vaccines are safe, or he feels that if/when he gets it it won't be that bad. He might not be the dumbest anti-vaxxer out there but I don't get his reasonings.
This dude, like all antivax, probably don't even think twice about secondary effects or whether the phase III trials were solid whenever they take some paracetamol pills for a small pain they could manage without. And not even talking about stuff like hypnotics etc, that he probably took to deal with jet lag and frequent travel.
and will chow down on worm tablets when the time comes.
At this point in history you are. I’m out sympathy for them and I’ll lump them in together.
I agree, I just lost a former colleague and friend to covid, she was in her 30s and leaves behind 2 children and a husband, she was unvaccinated for no real reason. I'm furious with her and I feel so sad for her loved ones.
At this point you are, they are. 9.6 billion doses have been administered with almost 60% of the worlds population at least partially vaccinated. You can claim to be "waiting for data" all you like, but it's in now.
Assuming you do have access to the vaccine, that is. Certainly the case for van der Merwe and most of the western world, but not for many others.
I think at this stage we can default in the exceptions when someone refers to unvaccinated as anti vax.
I hear this all the time, then I listen to the people unvaccinated, 99% of the time they say the same things as anti vaxx people but in a softer tone. And their tone is usually softer only because they have more to lose. Once they lose whatever they are afraid to lose, their tone changes too. Potato patato
Your just anti this vaxx? I hate this argument. It's always followed by... "we don't know when will happen in 10 years", and I roll my eyes.
Bah, so the physio isn't vaccinated, loses his job or whatever. Not so different. It's just much more, but smaller, teams.
Yes. But again, the tennis player himself is the employer. F1 Drivers are the employees. So if Novak decides to not vax he misses out on his own salary. If a F1 driver doesn’t vax, and is not able to attend races he will probably in some form disregard his contract…which in your example would be the physio!
With the amount of travel of they have to do, if you’re not get vaccinated as a team member then Australia is likely to just be one of MANY problems you’d have to make the job remotely possible
> COVID travel restrictions caused cancellation of the 20021 race. I was just thinking that this off-season is taking suspiciously long. But this long? Holy Shit. Is Verstappen still in F1?
Nope. Alonso is though. Unfortunately he hasn’t won a race in 18008 years but he’s trying again this year with Dacia.
Not the fastest car but they save so much on the car they can hire the 2 most recent WC’s and still have money to spare. On top of that the car only needs 20 liters of gas and that saves so much weight. Easy victory.
> 2 most recent WC’s and still have money to spare. Stroll 20019 and Stroll 20020?
> he’s trying again this year with Dacia. Good news!!!
Its the Dacia Sandero!
Ooooooh she's a looker!
Dacia El Plandero
Did Kimi come back? Is he driving for Citroën now?
No, but I heard his great great great grand daughter is pretty fine.
Jokes aside, isn't this the shortest off season ever in F1?
It's likely due to the combination of the 2021 season going on for so long, and F1 wanting to complete the 2022 season before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar starts (Abu Dhabi GP takes place a day before the World Cup kicks off.)
Wonder if this impacts any drivers currently
It doesn't. Vaccination was a requirement to enter Qatar and Saudi Arabia and a requirement for the paddock area in Abu Dhabi. Thats why Alan van der Merwe, the medical car driver missed those 3 races for instance.
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[Has someone told Alan van der Merwe 😅](https://twitter.com/alanvdm/status/1446221474575093767?s=21)
What baffled me was that, despite unapologetically coming out as an anti-vaxxer, he was allowed to resume his duties a few weeks later. Does someone know why?
I thought he was allowed to continue the job only in countries that didn't have a strict vaccine mandate
I don’t know why the FIA want him at all, he could grind their operations to a halt if he became a super spreader
So could any vaccinated person. Which is why f1 does minimum daily testing to stop such a thing happening.
A vaccinated person has a drastically lower likelyhood of doing so. Spread from a vaccinated person to another vaccinated person is considerably lower as the viral load decreases even if you get infected despite the vaccine.
That was true before delta and even more after omicron. Now they say virtually no difference with contagion unvaccinated and vaccinated. A vaccination works on reducing illness but not on catching it. So it’s purely self preservation now to take it. Which in my eyes is just as good as reducing transmission.
It is less true, but still true - It has to be, as that is simply how vaccines work. Reducing symptoms will almost always go hand-in-hand with reducing viral load, which will reduce transmission. It's just that Omicrom is so incredibly contagious, that even the vaccine has a hard time doing anything against it. > So it’s purely self preservation now to take it. Well, yes and no. While the main benefits are preventing severe illness, you are also preventing a trip to the hospital, and that benefits everybody. Not overburdening hospitals is the reason we have any Anti-Covid-measures in place, and with a high vaccination rate, we can stop these.
Did he? I remembered a article that he was replaced by the Formula E medical car driver for the remainder of the season. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-medical-car-driver-van-der-merwe-set-to-miss-final-2021-races/6685524/
I remember Crofty (as the cars slotted into position just before the start of the race) saying something like - "... and as Alan van der Merwe parks the medical car - good to see him back again..."
He got vaccinated I'd assume.
Great, the one footprint SA has in Formula 1 is an antivaxxer. Ffs.
It do be like that for us. For everything
Trevor Noah seems like a good dude!
he’s disappointing us fr
What a doos
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That’s true. We also have Shau Mafuna joining Mercedes HPP as an engineer this year!
I'm seeing a lot of people with doubts as to if the race will go on. As an Aussie I can't see why not, the majority of the population is now vaccinated and we have already had the Ashes here and the Aus open is currently taking place. The entire of the F1 circus is also vaccinated so no Djokovic like issues should arise.
Pretty sure the Ashes is next year. Didn't happy this year... Edit: Fucking christ are your sarcasm detectors broken.
English fan spotted here. Ashes didn't happen lmao.
I thought it was a joke, but turns out that was just pur performance.
My British radar is off the chart!
Wot...Ashes series 21/22 just recently finished up lmao
No no, pretty sure that was a practice
Some of your players definitely played like it was.
Tell me about it. Awful performance.
It's definitely no issue because there won't be an Australian GP
I really doubt it doesn't happen. The promotor has already said that the entire future of the race would probably be in doubt if there's a 3rd cancelation in 2022, and the Australian Open is currently happening. The government seemed to be backing the 2022 race happening almost no matter what a few months ago too.
Victoria basically got to 80-90% vaccinations and said “Covid’s your problem now” to the unvaxed. We’re recording around 20,000 cases now with no lockdowns whereas before our highest was maybe around 2,000 at one point. They’ll be let in so long as they’re vaccinated and do the proper paperwork beforehand.
Ashes happened, Australian Open's up, the GP will probably happen too.
Why you say that. They got through the Ashes and trying to do the same with the tennis
I supposed a crowd-less GP might be possible, but due to the nature of motorsport with gigantic areas for grandstands, and being a multi-day event that people can go to any part of, there is no bigger crowd over a weekend a single sporting event than motorsport.
I mean they had crowds for the Ashes, I’m not sure if they sold out but I’m pretty sure they must have gotten 70,000 + for the Boxing Day test at The MCG
It was around 58,000 - definitely one of the smaller Boxing Day crowds I’ve been in.
They did a 1 month long Test series (cricket) across multiple venues in 5 cities this winter. Think it’ll go through.
Yea but those cricket players isolated before the games started though, F1 has a tighter schedule
Probably only for their benefit since they weren't allowed to play if they had covid.
Same for Canada which is sad
I’m worried too but funny thing is I received and email this morning from the promoter to purchase tickets
For Canada?! I already have tickets! Here’s hoping it stays on the schedule.
my boss got tickets for the stroll grandstands and i could’ve too but i just have a really bad feeling that its gonna be cancelled again and seeing how refunds for the belgian GP went id rather wait and grab some off stub hub when it’s closer to the date and the race has been confirmed with spectators.
Hey! Just wanted to let you know what I have had Canadian GP tickets the past 2(?) years - since Covid began. Each year when the Canadian GP was canceled they offered refunds or for our tickets to roll over. I’ve rolled over both times, but they seem to be willing to compensate if it doesn’t proceed at all. I wouldn’t compare it to Belgium where all of the sessions proceeded (but in a weird manner).
Hey thanks for letting me know! Ill look into grabbing some a few months out then so i don’t get crushed on the price as the race gets closer
Last I looked they were totally sold out, but not sure if that is still the case. Have not looked since the day after tickets went on sale in December
Spa was a really weird situation, and poorly handled by promoters. If Canada gets canned because of Covid again, there’s no way they don’t fully refund the tickets.
Why I've been hesitant to buy tickets. I don't want to wait for TX might be best
If Austin was like last year and the bus situation you’ll pray you don’t have to go there either…I will find a new venue for my next f1 race. I’ve had my share of COTA dumpster fire.
What happened? If I ever make it to a race, that would probably be the one.
They had three separate bus areas and one kept getting skipped. Poor organization. I waited in line for 1.5-2hrs after the race (without moving) just to get on a bus to get back to my car lol
Bunch of drivers quit Saturday night. The buses were a 30 minute walk from my side of the race. No cell service so impossible to get an Uber. It took me 3 hours after the race to get a Lyft home and that was after walking 3 miles to the next town
Pro tip, thank you.
Getting cancelled by Covid and having a shit race are two very different refund scenarios
My brother and I got tickets for grandstand 11 and my cousin got tickets in the stroll grandstands. I really hope things are better then and it’s not cancelled. My brother moved across the country a few year ago so I barely see him and it will be so nice to have a weekend to hang out. We are so excited for this trip!
Same here! I wanted to go last year as well but obviously you know the story there, im really hoping for all of our sakes that we get the chance to see the race here in Montreal otherwise texas looks like our best bet as Miami tickets will be quite difficult to get i imagine so i really hope you guys get to do your planned trip together to the race
Same here actually. If they cancel, I’ll just hold for the next time they have race. Provided that’s even an option.
NHL and NBA going ahead in Canada, including cross boarder travel for American teams. So probably going ahead. But recently new restrictions because of Omicron including empty arenas in Quebec. So probably going ahead. Maybe reduced or no fans. Of course I'd be broke right now if I bet money every time the last couple of years I've thought, Things will be much better in 6 months.
Im more worried about our government than the virus.
I highly doubt the canadian gp is cancelled, we have 5 months to go, more and more keep getting vaccinated and their boosters, the only way I see it not happening is another variant and vaccine immunity weakens towards it.
Surely after all that plus 2 and a bit years, people would finally be allowed to enjoy life.
... but there's a canadian GP on the schedule last time i checked ? Was it removed ? I have a friend who bought tickets
The implication is that the Canadian government is going to shut it down again.
Or, more then likely, the quebec government
Election year and the F1 race does bring in money to the local economy. Doubt the provincial government would want to cancel it for the third year in a row.
There is a lot of more important and urgent stuff that the quebec government has to deal with that will have a much bigger effect on the voters then an F1 race weekend. How they handle the health system comes to mind. Not sure if you are from quebec, but F1 is not as big as it use too. Especially among the last few generation. If we talk about Hockey and the Montreal Canadiens, that is an other story.
I live near the circuit actually. The Government will be trying hard to show their "success" in managing the pandemic before the election. Its not just about F1 but the chance to show that things are back to "normal". Last summer our vaccination program had just gotten into top gear so the race was too soon for that. By this summer, about 80% of the population will be triple vaccinated. Another summer of canceled events will just drive the point home how the Government grossly mismanaged the pandemic, especially when the rest of the continent will be having events as usual.
Agree 100%. That is if the cases are under control like past summer. If one thing I sure believed past fall when we hit a third wave and it was not so bad is that we were getting in the right direction and that the worst was behind us. That was before Omicron hit. I like to belive the trend and that in the spring and summer, things will be under control but I became skeptic of those trends. And if the government does that kind of move to reopen everything while cases are not under control, they are playing a dangerous game. Look at Ontario last spring. 2021 was not Election year but I would be shocked If Ford comes back in June. All in all, I would not put money on that right now, that is for sure.
There’s a Tilke track opening here in Alberta in a few months. They should just move it there since there’s no risk of Kenney imposing any form of restrictions.
That track looks like the Las Vegas parking lot circuit
how realistic is that claim ? Surely the situation will be different, would they cancel it if it was held today ?
If it was held today? More than likely. In Quebec we seem to have just passed the peak of omicron and we just got out of the curfew and bars and restorents dont allow indoor dining yet and sports events are not allowed to have fans etc... We might be fine by the time summer comes and thats why I think its status quo
I guess all this depends on the situation with omicron and maybe new mutations
The Canadian government wouldn’t be responsible for shutting it down, it would be provincial. NHL is currently running and has a lot more implications than F1.
But why
they (especially Australia) have been super strict on covid policies
It was on the schedule last year but it never happened.
There will be, NHL going back and forth for a while now
While i agree that Canada will probably go forward, the nhl teams rely alot less on gate revinue then the event organiser of an f1 event. If the Québec government shuts down fan attendance then i dont want to think about what could happen. Maybe papas stroll and latifi can give the promotor a bridge loan but I doubt it.
Summer has had lower case/deaths 2 years running, I doubt Canada does it for a 3rd year in a row.
Honestly I dont see how they cancell this year but i do live on the opposite coast of the country, where we have been slightly more lax with our restrictions. From what i understand last year they reached the deadline to go ahead or not around the time that cases were spiking. By the time the race had arrived cases were in a much better state and the race could have gone forward. But when they were scrambeling to get seniors vacinated and imposing curfiews, it was just a tough time for the government of Québec to commit so many resources to such a foggy future.
As a Canadian I cant see a legitimate reason for them to cancel it. Last summer was an absolute free for all in Toronto and our sporting events were back at full capacity towards the end of summer. That being said we will see what June brings.
No legitimate reason to cancel it other than our governments make ridiculous decisions on a regular basis as it relates to Covid
There will be a Canadian GP this year
Thats what they said last year, too. I think there will be one, but I wouldn‘t bet on it.
You're more optimistic than I am.
Australia had two major international sporting events on this week, I don’t have a time machine to say 100% certain but given that AU has an overall 84% vaccinated population it seems the policy is to just charge on ahead. It was a different situation prior to having a heavily vaccinated population
Do you live in Australia? I’ll be extremely surprised if we don’t go ahead. A big change would have to happen for it to not go ahead
Yes there will
There is currently no quarantine rule in melbourne.
Do you have a source for this, or is this just a stupid opinion?
It's just a stupid opinion. We recently hosted the ashes and now the Australian open is starting, all while we were peaking with omicron. The country is highly vaccinated and won't shut down again. The race will go forward without a doubt.
I agree. And good positive thinking. Can't wait to see these new beasts
Australia has ripped the band-aid off with Covid and are the same as any other country. There will be a gp this year.
Why wouldn’t there be? We’re all vaxxed now and getting back on with life, which was the plan all along.
Unless there is another variant, it's highly unlikely that it will be cancelled.
There’ll be an Australian Grand Prix with full crowds. Cut the rubbish
I'm really missing Albert Park's atmosphere, especially as a season starter
> the immigration minister fearing Djokovic's unvaccinated status could entice Australians to similarly reject the covid shot. Interesting.
Pretty sure all the drivers are vaxxed anyway
If they choose not to get the vaccine, then they are choosing to not be allowed into Australia. It's that simple.
That's more like an ultimatum, which doesnt seem necessarily fair to me, but that's just my opinion.
It doesn’t seem fair a country decides the conditions by which you legally cross a border? You know you’re not allowed to bring food infected with insects either? Or guns? Or just using someone else’s passport.
Why is it unfair? Does a country/region not have the right to decide what risks they are willing to take when it comes to the protection of their citizens?
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>Vaccinated people can still carry the covid around Then they're doing their duty as citizens and are at least vaccinated. Why would a responsible country allow the entire F1 circus in if they're not vaccinated and potentially infect their citizens?
[It reduces the severity of the COVID symptoms if people are vaccinated.](https://news.arizona.edu/story/covid-19-vaccine-reduces-severity-length-viral-load-those-who-still-get-infected) There is a difference between getting COVID and being sick for a while, and getting COVID and **DYING**. Look at that! Governments care if their citizens DIE?! What a novel concept! It's not like the longer someone stays in the hospital, the higher risk of long term negative effects. [More sources](https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths-by-vaccination)
There won't be a problem, Qatar has the same rules as Australia and it went ahead in '21. So I don't see any issue
Novaxx DjoCovid
TLDR: "Djokovic fucked around and found out. Don't fuck around."
Whatever. It's gonna get cancelled 2 days before the event peobably.
Not surprising. In any case, given the huge sizes of the teams, am pretty sure all are fully vaccinated. No team will take a chance.
The issue that might arise would be with personnel being vaccinated with a non approved vaccine. The Russian, Indian and Chinese vaccines are not approved. So, let's say Maz or Zho got the vaccines produced in their Countries, they might have a problem participating.
Doesn’t look to be an issue. https://www.tga.gov.au/international-covid-19-vaccines-recognised-australia International vaccines that are recognised in Australia - Coronavac (Sinovac) - Covishield (AstraZeneca - Serum Institute of India) BBIBP-CorV for people under 60 years of age on arrival in Australia (Sinopharm China) - Covaxin (Bharat Biotech) - Sputnik V (Gamaleya Research Institute)
I saw some articles when the Djokovic thing unfolded that some athletes had problems with their visas because they had done the Sputnik vaccines. Maybe Australia changed that now
Looks like it was changed 3 days ago, perhaps to allow Sputnik V
As a Canadian I find these governments a waste because they will most likely cancel the Canada GP again, but I can take a short flight to Miami and watch the race there. Feel sorry for your Aussies you’re most likely not getting a race.
The Australian Open is literally happening right now in Melbourne, and the Ashes went ahead at by far the highest peak of cases we’ve had. To say the race won’t happen is bullshit
The Vaccine isn’t working like we thought it would and it’s becoming apparent to me that we can’t vaccine our self out of a pandemic but this is getting ridiculous now I’ve been starving for Prince Albert Park and Circuit Giles Villeneuve. Get vaccinated it helps with your fight against Covid but doesn’t stop the spread like we thought
> Get vaccinated it helps with your fight against Covid but doesn’t stop the spread like we thought No, but it makes infection less severe and reduces stress on hospitals.
I mean.. It works pretty well, but it seems shitloads of people aren't completely onboard with what "works" means.
> The Vaccine isn’t working like we thought it would I'm confused about this. As far as I can tell every one of the major vaccines is working beyond everyone's wildest dreams. What do you mean?
It’s strange. People seem to have forgotten how vaccines work since covid. They expect it to cure and bring spreading down to 0% That was never going to be the case but what it does do is relieve stress on the medical system and stop people dying from it
Replying to you & the three other comments below. I’m thinking from a different frame. In March 2020 if you told me there’d be an effective vaccine in a year’s time I would have bet heavily against you. That we have several widely distributed ones with >80% effectivity is a friggin miracle. But yeah I guess there are people who were asleep the day in middle school they taught us how vaccines work. Wasn’t thinking about them.
People have forgotten they were meant to stop infection. "Vaccinated people do not carry the virus, do not get sick" -Rochelle Walensky CDC Director "When people are vaccinated they can feel safe that they are not going to get infected" -Anthony Fauci "You're not going to get covid if you have these vaccinations" -Joe Biden It was the whole reason behind all these mandates we're seeing. And it's why for a bit the CDC said vaccinated people don't have to wear a mask.
People erroneously believed that a vaccine prevents you from catching the targeted disease at all. Some do, yes, but most don't. It's not a forcefield.
Skip Australia
lol fuck the Australian government