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F1 Summer break: Driver holidays
Between the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix, Formula 1 hibernates for its school-like August summer holidays. With a month of no racing and compulsory two-week factory shutdowns, the period provides an ideal holiday time for fans and drivers alike.
Due to an agreement amongst teams, all F1 outfits must close their doors for a period of a fortnight between Budapest and Spa, with drivers choosing to spend the time in a way which suits them best.
Courtesy of a GPUpdate.net holiday investigation, we can reveal that championship leader Mark Webber will be spending part of the break in the south of France although Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel was less sure of where he would be as the holidays began, but knowing that training will be a key part of his time off.
Teams have selected various periods in which to close, with McLaren having chosen the earliest possible option of shutting from Monday of this week until next Sunday – the same pattern as the likes of Mercedes and Williams.
Hispania, on the other hand, began their closure on Wednesday and others – such as fellow 2010 debutants Lotus and Virgin Racing – head off this weekend. Red Bull and Force India have elected to stay on until next Monday, meaning their factory employees will return to work on the Monday leading up to the Belgian Grand Prix.
World Champion Jenson Button returns to the isle of Guernsey for final preparations ahead of Sunday’s London triathlon, with Spanish title-winning counterpart Fernando Alonso electing to enjoy his holidays between current country of residence Switzerland and home nation Spain with family members and friends.
Also at home is Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa, making the most of his time in Brazil’s São Paulo, as is Williams’ Rubens Barrichello, whose own team-mate Nico Hülkenberg is holidaying with his girlfriend.
Adrian Sutil has decided to spend the majority of his time in Switzerland whereas Force India partner Vitantonio Liuzzi is visiting family and friends at home in Italy.
With four drivers on their pay roll, Hispania representatives will be spread out across three continents, with Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok in their native venues of São Paulo and India, Sakon Yamamoto in his homeland Japan but Austria’s Christian Klien electing to travel to Switzerland as well as spending several days in Alicante, Spain.
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