Three scenarios for restart: LPGA head

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said that he is working on three scenarios for a possible return to competition, knowing that any firm timetable depends on global success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Whan, in comments to the No Laying Up podcast posted on the LPGA Web site on Thursday, said that it has been “a busy, stressful time” trying to juggle options for the first LPGA event since Feb. 16 in Australia. “Just like any other tour you talk to, we’ve got three scenarios — a scenario that says we start playing in the next month, a scenario that says we don’t start playing until mid-July, a scenario that says we don’t start playing until mid-September,” Whan said. “Each one of those scenarios has a schedule with it. Each one of those schedules has economic repercussions that we have to deal with. Each one of those schedules have regulation adjustments and changes that we have to think through,” he added. The next scheduled LPGA event is on May 14 to 17 at Belleair, Florida, with events set for the following weeks in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Galloway, New Jersey, ahead of the US Women’s Open on June 4 to 7 in Houston, Texas. Mid-July offers the Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a pairs event on July 15 to 18 at Midland, Michigan, and no other events before four European stops in August. The year’s first scheduled major LPGA event, the ANA Inspiration, was moved to Sept. 10 to 13, with October and early November set for events in Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan. “I’m usually spending my time working on a season two or three years from now,” Whan said. “Now I’m working on the season two and three months from now.” “To be spending virtually every minute of every day working with different sponsors and different tournaments —

Patriots fly masks from China to Massachusetts

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker found himself in need of an assist to help the state fight the COVID-19 pandemic. He called on the New England Patriots. One of the team’s private airplanes on Thursday evening landed in Boston after returning from China carrying more than 1 million masks critical to healthcare providers fighting to control the spread of the coronavirus. Members of the Massachusetts National Guard met the airplane and offloaded the containers of masks onto waiting trucks for transport to warehouses for distribution. Baker secured the N95 masks from Chinese manufacturers, but had no way of getting them to the US. He reached out to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who loaned the Boeing 767 painted in the team’s colors and logo that is usually used to carry the team to and from NFL games. Baker detailed the joint venture in a news conference, at one point getting emotional as the thanked the Kraft family for their assistance. “The Krafts were terrific,” the Republican governor said. “They were a phone call away and immediately went to work on the logistics associated with this and did not stop until they could make it happen. This was a total team effort on every level.” Kraft Sports and Entertainment chief operating officer Jim Nolan said in an interview on Patriots.com radio that the Chinese government did not officially sign off on the trip until on Friday last week. The hurdles included legal logistics that were only cleared thanks to cooperation involving multiple state, US and international entities, Nolan said. Chinese technology company Tencent was a huge help in the process, Nolan said, adding that it agreed to gather the masks, got them through the inspection process, stayed with them to ensure their security and eventually their movement on to the Patriots’ airplane. “This isn’t in their wheelhouse, but they thought it

SPORTS BRIEFS

BOXING Russian coach tests positive A Russian national boxing team coach has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home from Olympic qualifiers cut short in London last month. Anton Kadushin, who works with Gleb Bakshi, last year’s world champion in the middleweight class, on Thursday wrote on Instagram that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He said that he experienced symptoms including a high temperature on Wednesday last week, a few days after returning from the qualifiers, and that he was now at home in self-isolation. Russia Boxing secretary-general Umar Kremlev said in a statement on its Web site that the situation was under control and that Kadushin had a mild case of the virus. There were no coronavirus cases among the Russian boxers who had returned from London last month, Kremlev added. The Olympic qualification tournament in London was halted on March 16 because of the rapidly spreading virus. Reuters last week reported that several Russian national team boxers returning from London had posted online pictures or videos that appeared to show them flouting self-isolation rules imposed to slow the spread of the virus. CYCLING Vuelta to feature 21 stages This year’s Vuelta a Espana is still to go ahead as planned with all 21 stages, despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating effects on Spain, the race’s director said on Thursday. “As it stands today, the Vuelta’s dates stay as they are and we not considering a race of less than the scheduled 21 stages,” Javier Guillen told sports daily AS. It had been rumored that the Vuelta, one of cycling’s three Grand Tours which is scheduled to start on Aug. 14 in the Netherlands, could reduce the number of stages if the Tour de France is delayed to make room for the postponed Giro d’Italia, which as yet has no

Wimbledon canceled due to pandemic

‘GREAT REGRET’: Tennis stars were left ‘devastated’ after the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club canceled the event for the first time since World War II

Roger Federer and Serena Williams were among the tennis stars left devastated on Wednesday as Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cancelation of the oldest Grand Slam at London’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club leaves the season in disarray, with no tennis set to be played until mid-July. “Devastated,” eight-time champion Federer said on Twitter, while Williams, who has won the tournament seven times, said that she was shocked by the momentous decision. Wimbledon was scheduled to run for two weeks from June 29, with Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep set to defend their singles titles. However, tournament heads on Wednesday bowed to the inevitable, saying in a statement that they had made the decision with “great regret.” US tennis heads responded by saying that the US Open, scheduled to finish a week before the controversially rearranged French Open, was still due to take place as planned. Club chairman Ian Hewitt said that the decision to cancel Wimbledon had not been taken lightly. “It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of the championships has only been interrupted previously by world wars,” he said. “But, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year’s Championships,” he added. Halep took to Twitter to express her disappointment. “So sad to hear @Wimbledon won’t take place this year,” she said. “Last year’s final will forever be one of the happiest days of my life! But we are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will be back! And it means I have even longer to look forward to defending my title.” Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray said: “Very sad that Wimbledon has been cancelled this year but

Brady, Manning to join Woods, Mickelson

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are planning to play a charity golf match next month with Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, CNBC reported on Wednesday. CNBC, which cited an unnamed person familiar with the negotiations, said that the charity match would be held at an undisclosed location without fans and is being organized by the PGA Tour and AT&T’s WarnerMedia. The negotiations are still being finalized, but the match pitting 15-time major champion Woods and Manning against five-time major winner Mickelson and Brady could be aired on live TV and is unlikely to be featured on pay-per-view, CNBC said. “Discussions along these lines have been ongoing for quite some time, but nothing has been approved by the tour,” the PGA Tour said in a statement. A matchup featuring two of the most famous golfers of their era and two of the all-time greatest NFL quarterbacks would be a rare sporting event during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought the sporting world to a halt. The event would feature a small production crew to film it and each individual would obey “social distancing” recommendations to stay at least 1.8m apart, CNBC said. Mickelson was asked recently on Twitter about the chances of a round of golf against Woods being livestreamed in the near future, with the American saying: “Working on it.” When another fan tweeted to Mickelson asking him not to “tease,” the 49-year-old said: “I don’t tease. I’m kinda a sure thing.” Woods, 44, last competed in mid-February and then withdrew from a number of tournaments with a back injury before the PGA Tour decided to cancel a slew of events because of the pandemic. Mickelson finished third in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in early February and missed the cut in his next two starts. Woods and Mickelson played each other in a winner-takes-all US$9 million match

UEFA defers internationals for club soccer resumption

UEFA on Wednesday made a move toward clearing the decks for the return of club soccer by announcing that all international matches that had been pushed back to June have now been postponed until further notice. “This includes the playoff matches for UEFA Euro 2020 and qualifying matches for UEFA Women’s Euro 2021,” European soccer’s governing body said in a statement. “All other UEFA competition matches, including the centralized international friendly matches, remain postponed until further notice,” it said. The decision followed a teleconference with Europe’s 55 member federations as part of discussions on how to adapt the fixture calendar in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The playoff semi-finals and finals that are supposed to decide the last four qualifying berths for the next European Football Championship were initially postponed at the end of last month and penciled in provisionally for June. That was “subject to a review of the situation” amid uncertainty over how the pandemic would develop and whether many European countries in lockdown would be able to return to some kind of normality. Friendlies that will now not go ahead include England’s matches in Austria and at home to Romania in early June. However, European soccer’s governing body has also stated a determination to finish all domestic and club competitions by June 30. While that looks ambitious, clearing the international fixtures from the same month does buy some more time as it aims to complete the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League competitions, as well as domestic leagues. “The federations agreed to hand over the international window in June to the leagues so they can complete domestic competitions. Finishing the current season is a priority for UEFA as much as it is for the federations,” the Royal Spanish Football Federation said in a statement. Carrying the season on beyond June 30 runs the risk

Lewis of cricket’s ‘D/L’ method fame dies at 78

Tony Lewis, one of the men behind the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method used in weather-affected limited-overs cricket matches, has died at age 78, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Wednesday. “It is with much sadness that the ECB has learned of the passing of Tony Lewis MBE, aged 78,” it said in a statement. “Tony, alongside fellow mathematician Frank Duckworth, devised the Duckworth-Lewis method, which was introduced in 1997 and adopted officially by the ICC [International Cricket Council] in 1999,” it said. “Renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method in 2014, the mathematical formula continues to be used in rain-reduced limited-overs cricket games across the globe,” it added. A career academic — and not the Welshman of the same name who captained England — Lewis was in 2010 made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to cricket and mathematics. “Cricket is deeply indebted to both Tony and Frank’s contributions to the sport,” the ECB said. “We send our sincere condolences to Tony’s family.” The formula came about in response to the extraordinary climax of a rain-interrupted 1992 Cricket World Cup semi-final in Sydney. The method then in use removed the lowest-scoring overs from each team’s innings. However, it produced a farcical finish to a showpiece semi-final when South Africa, who had faced the challenging but achievable target of 22 runs off 13 balls to beat England, were left with the impossible task of scoring 21 runs off one ball after a rain delay. Duckworth, the more outspoken of the founding duo — fellow statistician Steven Stern helped revise the formula several years later — said: “I recall hearing [commentator] Christopher Martin-Jenkins on radio saying: ‘Surely someone, somewhere could come up with something better’ and I soon realized that it was a mathematical problem that required a mathematical solution.” The big difference between Duckworth-Lewis and previous

McLaren furloughs staff, management to take salary cut

McLaren on Wednesday became the first Formula One team to furlough staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz joining senior management in taking a pay cut. The automaker said in a statement that the temporary three-month wage reduction was part of wider cost-cutting measures due to the effects of the pandemic on its business. “These measures are focused on protecting jobs in the short term to ensure our employees return to full-time work as the economy recovers,” McLaren said. A team spokesman said that 100 to 150 staff from across the group who were working on a project to make ventilators were not included in the measure. The group, including the luxury automaker and applied technology arm, employs about 3,700 people, with about 850 working for the F1 team. McLaren is part of a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing companies that have joined forces to ramp up production of a ventilator made by Smiths Group, which supports those with complications from the virus. Britain has ordered 10,000 of the breathing machines. The majority of the Formula One team, who are on a three-week factory shutdown brought forward from August due to the season being on hold, are to be furloughed from next week, with McLaren making up some of the difference. Those not furloughed, including McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, would work on reduced pay. With racing unlikely to start until the European summer at the earliest, F1 sources have said that the teams — a majority based in Britain — are discussing extending the shutdown. Formula One teams, unless owned by manufacturers, derive much of their budget from the sport’s revenues, prize money and sponsorships, and face a major financial hit if races do not happen. They have already agreed to defer major rule changes from next year to 2022

SPORTS BRIEFS

CYCLING Shutdown extended to June Cycling’s shutdown was on Wednesday extended until June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that French one-week stage race the Criterium du Dauphine would be postponed, organizers said. However, the Tour de France, scheduled to start in Nice on June 27, remains on schedule. The Criterium was to have started in Clermont Ferrand on May 31, with the only remaining key Tour de France warm-up race not yet postponed being the Tour de Suisse. The Criterium is organized by Amoury Sports Organisation, which also runs the Tour de France. “The priority is the health of the nation,” group president Christian Prudhomme told reporters. “For now the Tour de France dates remain the same.” International Cycling Union president David Lappartient made the announcement of the extended suspension. The governing body said that it is preparing a new potential calendar taking into account different scenarios and would present it in the coming weeks. OLYMPICS Beijing studies Tokyo delay Organizers of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games said that they would conduct a “detailed assessment” of the effects on their plans of the decision to postpone the Tokyo Games to next year. Beijing Games organizers said in a statement carried by Xinhua news agency that they were in close communication with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure that the “special situation” is handled properly. The IOC and local organizers last week agreed to push the Tokyo Games back a year because of the pandemic. The revised dates for Tokyo are July 23 to Aug. 8 next year. The Beijing Games are scheduled to open on Feb. 4, 2022. Although the Summer and Winter Olympics would now be held within six months of each other, Beijing organizers said that their preparations are on target and they have no plans to delay events.

Milder tone in new USSF women’s equal pay filings

DECREASED TENSION: The US players’ lawyers said that the soccer federation no longer disputes that the jobs of the women’s and men’s national teams require equal skill

Women players suing the US Soccer Federation (USSF) said in in court documents filed on Tuesday that the federation has acknowledged that the jobs of male and female soccer players require equal skill. The language seemed to signal a decrease in tension between the parties after language in documents filed by the federation’s lawyers earlier last month provoked widespread outrage in saying that playing on the men’s national team required a higher level of skill based on speed and strength and carried greater responsibility. The fierce backlash — not only from the women players, but also from sponsors such as Coca-Cola — ultimately forced federation president Carlos Cordeiro to resign. He was replaced by vice president Cindy Parlow Cone, a former US international. The federation brought in new legal counsel, which has focused in court filings on refuting the plaintiffs’ claims that it contravened the US Equal Pay Act and other anti-discrimination legislation. “The parties have significantly narrowed the issues to be tried by way of discovery and briefing,” Tuesday’s filing from the players’ lawyers said. “The USSF no longer disputes that the jobs of the WNT [US women’s national team] and MNT [US men’s national team] players require equal skill, effort and responsibility — and therefore have necessarily conceded that they perform equal work.” The documents filed by the federation outlining the case that they plan to make said that the female players had not identified comparable male counterparts under US law — which requires equal payment for men and women working “in the same establishment.” “The undisputed facts show that the WNT and MNT are both geographically and operationally distinct,” the federation filing said. “The WNT and MNT play in different venues in different cities [and often different countries], and participate in separate competitions against completely different pools of opponents.” The federation again stated that

Colts looking for ways to get most out of Rivers, Brissett

Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich understands Jacoby Brissett’s predicament. Brissett has twice emerged as the Colts’ starting quarterback and twice lost the position to an older player with a more accomplished resume — but neither of whom owned a Super Bowl ring as he does. Reich, the longtime backup to Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, plans to help Brissett cope with the frustration and disappointment of making yet another major transition: this time backing up eight-time Pro Bowler Philip Rivers. “When the time was right, I called Jacoby and told him: ‘Hey, this looks like it may happen,’” Reich said on Tuesday, describing his initial conversation with Brissett. “We talked it through. Obviously, Jacoby wasn’t happy about it. He wasn’t happy about it, but he’s a great teammate — he’s a great leader. We all know that and I’m sure he’ll be good.” All along, Reich and Colts general manager Chris Ballard have insisted they believe that Brissett possesses the skills to be a full-time NFL starting quarterback — and he has shown these skills during an almost unfathomable rollercoaster ride. Brissett made his first significant appearance as Tom Brady’s replacement in 2016, going 1-1 in two starts. The following September, with Andrew Luck still recovering from shoulder surgery, Brissett was traded to Indianapolis to back up Scott Tolzien. Two weeks later, Brissett — still learning the Colts’ playbook — replaced Tolzien and wound up 4-11 as the starter, while enduring a league-high 52 sacks. Luck reclaimed the starting job in 2018, leading the Colts to the playoffs and earning the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award. However, when it looked as if Luck would be with the Colts for years, he suddenly retired last August, and Brissett once again inherited the starting job and led the Colts to a 5-2 start before injuring his knee and winning

Solskjaer stays in touch with stars

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keeping in touch with his players as he deals with the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The English Premier League has been postponed until at least April 30, with fears growing that a meeting of league stakeholders tomorrow might decide to delay the season further. During Britain’s lockdown, Solskjaer has been unable to train his squad in person, but he has been in constant contact with players and staff members online in an effort to ensure that they are ready if and when matches resume. “Of course, I’m used to seeing them every day for hours and hours, so it’s different,” Solskjaer told United’s Web site on Tuesday. “I just keep in touch with them on WhatsApp groups and messages, and we plan for whenever we get back and what kind of sessions for when we do start — but it’s such an unknown, and we don’t really have an idea and are not 100 percent about when we’ll start.” “We can keep in touch and see each other,” Solskjaer said. “We can send messages and get a reply quickly, and we can do the old-fashioned phone call sometimes and speak just on the phone — so we keep in touch regularly.” Solskjaer said that he is enjoying spending time with his family until United are able to play again. “I’m good, the family is good,” he said. “One of the downsides of football is you don’t get too much time with family and the flip side now is you get loads of time with them.”

South Korea’s top LPGA players on longest break ever

Ko Jin-young guesses that she will be plenty rested whenever the LPGA Tour resumes. Ko left the CME Group Tour Championship, the season-ending event of the Tour, in Naples, Florida, on Nov. 24 last year as the No. 1 player in women’s golf, capping off her four-win, two-major season as the association’s Player of the Year and winner of the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. The plan was to return for the Asia swing in the middle of February and work her way into the season — she is still waiting. The next event on the LPGA schedule is May 14 at the Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida, and that is looking more doubtful with each rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic. “In the 17 years that I’ve been playing golf, this is the first time I’ve had such a long break from competition,” Ko said in an e-mail. She is not alone. Park Sung-hyun withdrew from the final round in Naples with a sore left shoulder, but she was No. 2 in the world at the time. Park, like Ko, skipped the two events in Florida and two in Australia, targeting her return in Asia. Ko was in the US at the start of the year, while Park decided to go over when the coronavirus led to the Asia swing of the Tour being postponed, but they are now both back home. Ko returned to South Korea when the Founders Cup, Kia Classic and ANA Inspiration were postponed, but she is still working just as hard. “I go to bed and wake up early,” Ko said. “At least four times a week, I have a two-hour workout after breakfast. I practice golf every day and take my dog for walks when I return home. I also take naps occasionally.” Park could not remember another time when she was

Olympic champion Puig discovering new ‘normal’

With the tennis calendar paused and the Tokyo Olympic Games postponed, Olympic champion Monica Puig finds herself having to navigate a longer runway to her title defense and the long hours of quarantine felt by many communities around the world. “The stress levels are always going to be much higher, but thankfully I’m just trying to live my normal routine within the fact that it’s not really normal,” Puig said. “I’m trying to find ways to stay active, stay happy and kind of have a positive outlook on things.” Puig fought her way to the upset of her career at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, claiming Puerto Rico’s first-ever Olympic gold by defeating Germany’s Angelique Kerber, a favorite who had claimed the Australian Open title at the beginning of the year. Coming back from elbow surgery late last year, which sidelined her from the Australian Open, the 26-year-old said that she supported the International Olympic Committee’s decision to delay the Tokyo Games amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s very hard right now, to be a normal person right now, with everything that’s going on — especially in a lot of these hard-hit places,” Puig said. “There are athletes all over the world in really badly affected places that cannot train.” She keeps busy with her two Pomskys — a Pomeranian-husky mixed breed — who until now she did not entirely realize “how annoying they are sometimes.” “I think if I bring a third dog to the house, I’m going to be kicked out myself,” said Puig, who added that she has drawn fitness inspiration from fellow tennis players such as Christina McHale, who she spotted on social media doing deadlifts with paint cans. “Trying to see what other athletes are up to — I’ve seen some people getting very creative with their home workouts,” she added. The tennis

SPORTS BRIEFS

CHINA Big crowds at events banned The nation’s sports bodies have been banned until further notice from organizing events that would draw large crowds amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Administration of Sport said on Tuesday. “From now until further notice, major sporting events that gather crowds, such as marathons, will not resume,” it said. The directive, which singled out the nation’s soccer and basketball associations — both suspended — did not give a time frame when the situation might change. RUGBY Pair axed over schoolgirls Australia’s National Rugby League has expelled two players on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for a “serious” breach of its code of conduct after the pair took what the club described as “young females of a consensual age” to the team’s hotel during a pre-season tour. Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera were investigated by the league’s integrity unit following the promotional tour in New South Wales. “This decision should send a very clear message to all players of our stance on such behavior,” league CEO Todd Greenberg said yesterday. BASEBALL Empty parks viable: Heaney Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney on Tuesday said that he would be willing to open the Major League Baseball season playing in empty ballparks — something the MLB players’ union has discussed. Playing with no fans in attendance is an option being considered, even though “no player wants to play in an empty stadium,” said Heaney, the Angels’ union representative. “Baseball shows why it’s the national pastime,” he said. “It can be helpful for people in tough times ... to flip on a game and see their team play.” SOCCER Clubs fined for fan banners Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt have been fined for fans displaying offensive banners at matches in February, UEFA said on Tuesday. Bayern was ordered to pay 20,000 euros (US$22,000) for “transmitting a provocative message

Aussie rugby staff cut; Barca to cut pay

BITING THE BULLET: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi said that top players would make contributions so that the club’s employees can collect 100 percent of their salary

Three-quarters of Rugby Australia’s staff were temporarily laid off yesterday amid huge financial losses from the sport’s coronavirus-enforced shutdown, while Lionel Messi confirmed on Monday that Barcelona’s players would take a 70 percent pay cut to ensure that the club’s other employees are paid. The cuts to rugby staff were “the toughest decision in the game’s history,” governing body CEO Raelene Castle said. “Although extremely painful, they are necessary to ensure ... we are able to come out the other side of this global crisis, fully operational and ready to throw everything into the rebuild.” The sport has been hit hard by the suspension of the Super Rugby season, said Castle, who is to take a 50 percent cut to her US$500,000-plus salary. A worst-case scenario, in which the entire season would be lost, would cost the governing body A$120 million (US$74.03 million) in revenue, Castle said. Messi, in a lengthy message posted on Instagram, confirmed that Barcelona players would take a 70 percent pay cut and make contributions to ensure that the club’s other employees are paid in full during the state of emergency in Spain. Other Spanish clubs are expected to follow suit in applying temporary pay cuts, as soccer’s hiatus due to the pandemic leaves a number of sides fighting for financial survival. Atletico Madrid have said that the club would impose salary reductions on staff whose hours have been affected, while RCD Espanyol have also confirmed pay cuts, although for sports staff only. “For our part, the time has come to announce that, as well as the reduction of 70 percent of our salary during the state of alarm, we will also make contributions, so the club’s employees can collect 100 percent of their salary while this situation lasts,” Messi wrote. “We want to clarify that our desire has always been to apply a

F1 teams join virus fight

If British industry succeeds in saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, it would in part be thanks to the pioneering role played by Formula One (F1) racing teams in the country. Seven of F1’s 10 teams have joined forces with leading aerospace and engineering firms to ramp up production of ventilators, while Mercedes has also worked with medics and academics to produce an alternative breathing aid. Normally obsessed with improving the performance of cars that race at more than 320kph, the teams are stripping back lifesaving devices and using computer simulation to test whether more simplified models can be mass produced. The seven have bases in the “Motorsport Valley” area around Silverstone, a one-time World War II airfield that switched, along with its neighboring engineers, into racing to host the first world championship grand prix in 1950. “F1 teams are used to operating at pace. They move quickly, within a safety remit, and have the capacity and the capability to work on both the R&D [research and development] and the assembly,” one person familiar with the setup said. In one of the most eye-catching developments, engine maker Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains has worked with a team of mechanical engineers at University College London and clinicians at University College London Hospital to build a machine that pushes an air-oxygen mix into the mouth and nose. The device, a continuous positive airway pressure, has been used in hospitals in Italy and China, and can help patients avoid more invasive ventilation. Having produced the first device less than 100 hours after the first meeting, the team has secured regulatory approval and is to work with other teams and the manufacturer to increase production. “By working flat out ... we have accomplished something in five days that would normally take two years,” Andy Obeid, chief executive of the oxygen monitor firm