Formula One has placed 50% of its staff into temporary furlough whilst the sport’s Chief Executive, Chase Carey, will take a significant voluntary salary cut as part of measures to reduce costs during the coronavirus crisis.
Also, Formula One directors and executives have voluntarily agreed to take a 20% pay cut.
The furloughing of staff will be in place to the end of May.
Staff will use the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which pays those placed on temporary leave 80% of their wages, to a maximum of £2,500 a month, in a bid to help companies retain their workforce and prevent redundancies during the crisis.
F1 teams furloughing: Three F1 teams – McLaren, Williams and Racing Point – have already furloughed sections of their workforce, with the teams’ drivers also taking a pay cut.
Races cancelled and postponed: The current F1 season is yet to start, with two races cancelled – Australia and Monaco – and six more postponed – Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Netherlands, Spain, and Azerbaijan – so far.
The season is now scheduled to begin with the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on Sunday 14 June, however, organizers have said they will decide after the Easter weekend on whether to proceed with the race.
Formula One has said it hopes to resume racing in the European summer and is working on a reduced and rejigged calendar of 15 – 18 Grands Prix, with the anticipation that the season end date will extend beyond the original end date of Sunday 29 November.
The sport’s rules dictate a minimum of eight races must be held for a season to be defined as a World Championship.
