Formula One to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for 2022 season, 'will not request exemptions'
India Today
All competitors, hospitality staff, members of the media, the governing FIA, Liberty Media-owned commercial rights holders FOM and even celebrity guests will be required to be vaccinated to attend races in the 2022 season.
Formula One will make it mandatory for all personnel working in its paddock to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, without exemption, starting this season, a spokesperson for the sport's commercial arm said on Monday.
The mandate, which was first reported by the Times newspaper and the BBC, will apply to anyone entering the paddock -- an exclusive area in which teams and drivers set up shop for a race weekend.
"F1 will require all travelling personnel to be fully vaxxed and will not request exemptions," the spokesperson said.
This will include all competitors, hospitality staff, members of the media, the governing FIA, Liberty Media-owned commercial rights holders FOM and even celebrity guests.
The mandate was approved at a December meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.
News of Formula One's vaccine mandate comes after Novak Djokovic's Australian Open vaccine controversy.
The men's tennis world number one was detained by immigration authorities on Jan. 6, ordered released by a court on Jan. 10, then detained again before being forced to leave Australia after a final court ruling that upheld the government's decision to cancel his visa.
