Racing Point: 'Plenty of work ahead' despite F1 pause

Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer says his team won't be "taking it easy" when it hopefully returns to work in April, insisting the pink squad will be ready to compete when it returns to the track.

Racing Point's Silverstone factory closed its doors on Wednesday for F1's mandatory three-week break, a shut-down taking place as the UK itself endures a forced lockdown period.

"As things currently stand – and it’s important to stress that this is a constantly evolving situation – we’ll be returning to work on Thursday 16 April," said Szafnauer in an update provided by Racing Point.

"We’ve also worked extremely hard over the last few weeks to ensure that all staff who can work from home have the equipment they need to set up home offices.

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"We’re obviously disappointed not to be able to race for the foreseeable future but, ultimately, we all understand the significance of the situation.

"The challenges the world is currently facing are unlike anything I’ve known in my lifetime and clearly transcend the sport, so the decisions that have been made are the correct ones."

Szafnauer admits that Formula 1's hiatus is an "unprecedented" situation, void of any clarity as to when life will return to normal. But that doesn't mean the team will continue to idle in the coming months.

"There are so many factors that are not under our control," added the American.

"With that in mind, another decision taken between the teams and the FIA has been to delay the introduction of the new regulations until 2022.

"From both a logistical and a cost perspective, this makes absolute sense. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can afford to take it easy when we return to work.

"When we do eventually get back on track, we need to be in a position to compete – whatever the regulations. There’s still plenty of work ahead and we’ll be ready to tackle it when the time comes."

Szafnauer revealed that Racing Point's drivers, Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, will soon join the sim racing community in a bid to keep the team's loyal fans entertained.

"On behalf of everybody in the team, I’d like to thank our fans for their support at this challenging time," he said.

"I’d also like to recognise the commitment and positivity of our commercial partners. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will get back to the racing.

"In the meantime, there are some excellent efforts going on with F1 Esports and our drivers will be involved in those online events in the weeks ahead.

"My final thought is to reinforce the government’s advice to stay at home and act responsibly; the more we all follow the guidelines, the quicker we will be back racing.

"It’s important we all stay united through these unusual times and stay safe and healthy."

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