Home F1 COTA raises $200,000 as Ferrari with IIT produces ventilator for COVID-19

COTA raises $200,000 as Ferrari with IIT produces ventilator for COVID-19

13/05/2020

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) raises $200,000 in a food driver held at the track amid COVID-19 pandemic as Ferrari works with Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) to make a lost-cost ventilator.

With a creative effort, the Circuit of the Americas – constructed in 2010 and opened in 2012 – raised $200,000 in the fight against food insecurity in their region in Austin, Texas. The tangible impact of this money will be 1.6 million meals for the needy.

The money was raised by COTA by opening the track to the public as they got a chance to go around the circuit in their vehicles as a charity event. Around 20,000 people attended with 7,000 vehicles and interestingly 400 dogs also showing up on the day to contribute.

The money and food donated will go to the Central Texas Food bank, a nonprofit food bank, that – as the name suggests – donates food to those in need. It’s a cause that is always good to pay attention to, but especially with coronavirus ravaging the global economy.

In Texas – the state that COTA is in – unemployment rose to 4.7 percent in March, 1.2 percent up from the month prior. This 1.2 percent change means the loss of livelihood for 348,000 Texans, most of whom will be struggling to support themselves in this time.

“The Food Drive was a great success, it was so nice to see people safely come together [while socially distant and in their own cars] and support such a great cause, especially in these uncertain times,” said COTA Founder Bobby Epstein.

“It was a wonderful day with perfect weather and people were just having a blast – it felt really good to see. Hats off to the volunteers and participants, they should be very proud. The atmosphere was lively, and the spirit of giving was awesome.”

This, though, wasn’t a one-off act of charity from the motorsport world. COTA, in fact, joined the other F1 circuits like in Australia, India, Bahrain, Mexico and Britain in working towards the community amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Elsewhere, Ferrari continued playing their part in helping the Italian community hit by the pandmic, as they revealed details of production of a low-cost ventilator for the hospitals, alongside the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).

In order to improve availability, the ventilator – called FI5 – was also produced using materials that are more commonplace than rare. Additionally, it is open-source, meaning anyone has the rights to produce it, much like Mercedes’ product.

The project from Ferrari side is headed by Simone Resta and Corrado Onorato as they had support from the GT department too, while from the IIT side, they had Marco Maggiali and Andrea Pagnin. The ventilator has passed the tests with developments continuing.

“The challenge of Covid-19 was one we wanted to take on. FI5 is the contribution we made as the Scuderia, fielding the very essence of what makes a F1 team and more importantly, all the characteristics that make Ferrari special – its passion, its creativity and its desire to improve.

“This project was a very stimulating experience as well as being truly rewarding for all those involved, who worked side by side with our colleagues from IIT and the other partners,” summed up Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto.