The government of Bahrain has said it will be offering all F1 personnel the opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID-19 when they travel to the Kingdom later this month for pre-season testing and the first grand prix of 2021.
Pre-season testing will begin on 12 March, while the season-opener – the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix – is scheduled to take place on 28 March.
READ: Daniel Ricciardo Expecting To Learn From Lando Norris At McLaren
On Sunday, the Bahraini government issued a statement saying it will be offering all F1 personnel the opportunity to get vaccinated against coronavirus:
“Due to the timescale of this year’s Formula 1 event, including testing, the vast majority of participants will be present in Bahrain for a three-week period ahead of the race.
“This, in turn, allows a unique opportunity to provide additional protection for those who wish to take up the opportunity in the form of vaccination,” the statement reads.
It specified that it will be the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that will be made available to F1 personnel.
Most teams will not be taking up the Bahraini government’s offer, according to Autosport.
Meanwhile, an F1 spokesperson said the sport “has no plans to be vaccinated as a travelling group ahead of the already established rollout of vaccines through the health system in the UK.”
Last month, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said he doesn’t want Formula One to “jump the line” for COVID-19 vaccinations at the expense of vulnerable people.
“This is a very important point. The most vulnerable [person] is the priority one,” Domenicali said.
“On our side, we don’t want to jump the line of vaccination. For sure vaccination is very, very important and I would say I’m looking forward to being vaccinated as, I would say, everyone should be in this moment.”
Continuing, he said: “We need to be prudent and see and respect, of course, what is the situation with all the vulnerable people.
“We don’t want to be seen as the ones that are taking away that, for sure. So [we have] a lot of respect on what the governments are saying, a lot of respect [for] what the people will do.”
The upcoming season has already been affected by the pandemic, with the previously scheduled season-opener in Melbourne being delayed until much later in the season and the Chinese Grand Prix being delayed indefinitely and at risk of not running at all this campaign.
READ: Ferrari Vice-Chairman Criticises F1 For Keeping Technology ‘Secret’