The 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix was the last race in which Ferrari used U-masks: now in Maranello they have switched to other suppliers after the withdrawal from the market of the sanitary device: “We have always acted safely”
Scuderia Ferrari too must renounce the use of U-Masks after the sale ban by the Italian Ministry of Health and the ongoing investigation by the Italian authorities. They were used by the Formula 1 team, including the two drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
According to Corriere, Ferrari used them in the first GP of the season in Bahrain on Sunday 28 March, despite having been withdrawn from sale the day before in Italy, after the campaign made by the Italian satirical television program “Striscia la Notizia” and the tests that have shown poor filtering results.
Ferrari replies that “it has always complied with safety regulations”. And in particular “following the ban on the marketing and placing on the market of the aforementioned product, announced in the press on Saturday 27 March” the team has verified that according to the order of the Ministry of Health there was a period of 5 days available to adapt to the new prescription .
So the team could still use the U-Mask 2.1, very fashionable in F1 during the Bahrain race: in other countries they are considered legal and some teams even sell them as merchandise with the team logo (McLaren). Replacing them in the first race weekend would have been really complex: every member of the Ferrari team, from mechanics to team principal Mattia Binotto, uses two a day, in Sakhir the staff was made up of about ninety people.
Meanwhile in Maranello they have closed agreements with other suppliers and already from the Imola GP the men of the Scuderia will wear other masks.
