There is right now a world wide need for medical ventilators, and building them is not a job for just anybody. The elite engineering companies within F1 teams might be just right for the job.

The UK government alone estimates it needs 20,000 additional ventilators as quickly as possible. In the US Elon Musk has offered the services of Tesla ‘if’ there is a shortage in medical ventilators. There is already talk of establishing ventilator assembly lines such as Honda’s Swindon plant. But standard production lines can’t just switch to making electrical medical equipment even to a basic specification.

“The fact the government is asking manufacturers to make a different product to what they normally make is unprecedented since the World War Two,” Justin Benson, from the consultancy KMPG, said. “It’s a relatively complex piece of equipment with lots of components and a dedicated supply chain. So asking someone who makes a car to produce a respirator would take them some time.”

The UK (and by extension the rest of the world) is not lacking in elite engineering companies capable of custom fabrication and design. The near proximity to each other and to scientific centers such as Cambridge and Oxford can only be a bonus.

What’s in it for F1 teams?

AS LONG AS BIO SAFETY MEASURES ARE IN PLACE

they get paid, they get to keep running in the hiatus and they get to circumvent any movement restrictions in place.

It is also fantastic PR for a sport that needs it after the horrific debacle of the 2020 Australian GP. Liberty Media and the FIA need this, in fact they should be offering their services as organisers to the teams right now.

Ferrari are already leading the way on this to some extent by donating funding and having some of their feeder companies produce components for the health crisis in Italy. “Together with our suppliers, they have ensured the company’s production. And it is out of our respect for them, for their peace of mind and those of their families that we have decided on this course of action. Our clients and fans are also top of mind for us at this time, as we prepare for a strong restart.” Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri

You want an F1 competition in 2020? When this is all over get the World Health Organisation to rate the F1 ventilators against each other and declare a constructors champion!