Formula 1 Requires Covid Vaccines: Here’s Where Other Major Sports Stand

Formula 1’s mandate will cover all drivers and personnel, not allowing for any exemptions, according to The Times, Reuters and the BBC, but is not expected to cause a stir as all drivers are believed to be vaccinated already, the BBC reports.

Other major sports have stopped short of requiring vaccination among its players, instead incentivizing people to receive the shot by implementing harsher restrictions against unvaccinated players.

All major American team sports – Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and National Hockey League – have required the shot for staff but not for players, and player vaccination rates are at about 86% in the MLB, 97% in the NBA, 95% in the NFL and 99% in the NHL.

The English Premier League has no vaccine mandate, and 84% of its players have received at least one Covid-19 vaccination dose as of January 9.

Formula 1’s American racing series counterpart NASCAR has not had nearly the same success in vaccinating its drivers: NASCAR president Steve Phelps said in November that the vaccination rate among drivers is “not high enough,” though Phelps did not share drivers’ vaccination rate.

The International Tennis Federation and Women’s Tennis Association have not announced vaccine mandates for its players, but that doesn’t preclude tournaments from requiring vaccination, and the Australian government famously barred top-ranked men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic from playing in this month’s Australian Open for being unvaccinated against Covid-19.