The Haas Formula 1 Team has become the latest outfit to furlough its UK-based staff due to the coronavirus.
It’s the fifth team after McLaren, Williams, Racing Point and Renault to place the majority of its employees on leave, under a government scheme which will cover 80 per cent of employee wages up to £2,500 per month during the pandemic.
US-owned Haas has bases in the UK and America and also has staff located at Italian-based Dallara, which builds the team’s chassis.
Drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have also agreed to take a pay cut.
Only two of the UK-based teams – Mercedes and Red Bull – have yet to confirm whether they will follow suit, but given they are two of the better funded outfits, it’s unlikely given the criticism some football teams have come under for doing so.
F1 teams are currently observing an extended 35-day shutdown period which was originally two weeks before being extended to three and now almost five, in an effort to cut costs.
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