Interview with Gérard Neveu (1/4) – The coronavirus, the overhaul of calendars…

To start, how are your teams doing?

Those who were in the United States (in Sebring. Editor's note) returned safely after a withdrawal which was not easy because planes quickly became rare. One or two of our employees have contracted the virus but are safe and are not causing concern. As for the competitors, this week I had a videoconference again with the different team managers from our different championships. As I said in the preamble, I am thinking of the current health crisis. Above all, you have to take care of yourself. We have had very, very poignant testimonies from Italy. It’s a human drama playing out there. And it is an area that directly affects some of our main partners (Ferrari, AF Corse, Dallara, Cetilar Racing…), who are experiencing terrible times that go far beyond all of our little daily concerns. But they have incredible energy and have an extremely strong desire to get out of there and get back to the paddocks. This crisis must call upon us a great feeling of humility and bring us back to essential values.

How did you go about putting together such a complicated puzzle as the circuits will be saturated at the end of the season?

The issues WEC et ELMS are not the same, because the World ChampionshipEndurance 2019-2020 is not over and the next season was due to open in September (with the 6 Hours of Silverstone. Editor’s note). This coronavirus crisis therefore impacts both the current season and the next. A unit led by the FIA, in which representatives of all the world championships were present, allowed us to exchange views with each other so that when there is a resumption, it will be done in the best possible way. possible conditions and without disturbing others, as much as possible. The exercise will be very complicated, particularly in Europe. The period is narrowing considerably since we will reasonably start in summer – and again this is optimistic – and end in October. It wasn't easy and I changed the announcement date three times. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are other changes, but they will be partial changes and not global changes.

And this in accordance with the circuits…

We first had to contact our local partners and promoters as well as the circuits, to try to reposition the events. And for us, the first element was to know when the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be held, all our championships obviously revolving around this event. We cannot position our races three weeks before or after Le Mans. Reason why Pierre Fillon (President of the ACO. Editor's note) anticipated the announcement of the postponement (to the weekend of September 19-20. Editor's note), because the information was fundamental for reformatting the calendars.

See as well

• Second part: The new 2019-2020 WEC calendar
• Third part: The return to classic seasons from 2021
• Part four: The overhaul of the 2020 ELMS calendar

Which championships did you have to prioritize with?

We talked a lot. There are some, notably the Formula E, with whom it was easy, because we had no land conflicts at that time of the year. On the other hand, we have a lot of drivers in common, so it was essential not to have a conflict of dates. With the F1, circuit clashes are impossible, just like country clashes. Finally, we obviously took care not to disrupt the major races of theIMSA (6 Hours of the Glen, Petit Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring. Editor’s note), our partner, who also had to review their entire calendar.

Why did you announce the calendars? WEC et ELMS right now, when we don't know when this crisis will be behind us?

Today, our primary concern is people's health and not motorsport. The priority is to all emerge safe and sound from this health crisis. There will then be an economic crisis which will have to be integrated when restarting the engine. If we have chosen to announce the calendars now, it is because it is important to offer our competitors visibility. When we come out of this bad patch and it is time to set sail again, we will need a course to know where we are going and to be able to adopt the best possible pace as quickly as possible. This is what we are trying to anticipate with these calendars, but which will be subject to other modifications if we have not properly appreciated this exit from the crisis, which is so complicated to appreciate. If in August it is impossible to organize a car race, then they will not take place. We will adapt to the organizational conditions that will be dictated to us by the local authorities. This is what takes precedence, and not the opposite. Just as we will always follow the recommendations of the federations. But once again, we had to offer perspectives.

Do you have any fears about your competitors?

Once again, the important thing today is to respect confinement in order to take care of yourself and to allow the medical staff, who are doing an admirable job, to resolve this problem and control it as quickly as possible. Currently, we are hiding behind all this. But obviously we have fears, but it is far too early to know today what the consequences of this crisis will be. But we even have fears concerning us, the promoters. We will not be spared, we must have no illusions. But there is no point in speaking in a vacuum because once again, we know nothing.