No privileges for Mercedes personnel in Hungary

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has confirmed all members of his team will be under strict lockdown instructions in Hungary despite the country's rules allowing certain nationalities freedom of movement.

It emerged last week that Hungary has applied stringent measures for UK, non-EU and EEA nationals attending the grand prix to ensure there are no Covid-19 outbreaks despite the rigorous testing regime employed by F1.

Applicable F1 personnel are to remain confined to their hotels, while travel is only permitted between the hotel and Hungaroring. If there is a breach of protocol, anyone caught faces potential imprisonment and/or up to a 5,000,000Ft (£12,780) fine.

Mercedes is playing it safe by instructing all staff, regardless of nationality, to adhere to the guidelines.

"These restrictions apply from the moment you enter Hungary," said Wolff.

"What we as a team are going to do is to enter late. Nobody wants to be stuck in a hotel room from Monday to Thursday before we go to the track, and in that respect, we will maintain the bubble in Austria.

"We are making no difference for nationalities. You should know we are trying to be at the forefront in Formula 1 to fight for equality and no discrimination, so the last thing we would do is give others privileges. This is not something we want to do.

"Whoever needs to be early at the track because they have work, they will go earlier. Whoever can afford to go a little later will stay within the bubble."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that for his race staff that have already been on the road for over two weeks, in particular given the long hours for the mechanics, that hotel confinement should not be seen as a mental challenge.

"It's tough for them, but we've just spent three months shut up at home," said Horner. "It was one of the conditions we knew would be potentially applicable to returning to racing.

"Given the choice with those being the conditions, or not racing, I think we'd all sign up for those conditions. Of course, it's not ideal, but it's unprecedented times, and it's only a week in our lifetime.

"The situation globally seems to be hopefully improving with more races being announced, and Hungary is a racetrack we enjoy and hopefully we can perform well at.

"We're there to go racing, we're happy to go racing, so it's not a major issue. We'll just deal with it accordingly, and all focus is on the racetrack."

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