Australian Grand Prix ‘going ahead’ as planned as F1 continues amid coronavirus outbreak

Chinese Grand Prix has already been called off with growing fears for the Vietnamese round, but Melbourne remains on course to stage the curtain-raiser in two weeks’ time

The Australian Grand Prix will “go ahead” as planned despite growing concern for the start of the new Formula One season due to the coronavirus outbreak.

F1 has already postponed the Chinese Grand Prix due to the outbreak, with Shanghai originally scheduled to host the fourth round of the season in mid-April, and there are serious doubts that the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix two weeks’ prior given Hanoi’s close proximity to the border with China.

However, the growing number of travel restrictions worldwide has left many fearing for the opening round in Melbourne in two weeks’ time. Monday’s announcement that MotoGP had been forced to call off its opening two races in Qatar and Thailand has raised concerns that teams will struggle to travel to Australia for the curtain-raiser, with action due to get underway at Albert Park on Friday 13 March.

“We are all systems go,” said the Australian Grand Prix chief executive Andrew Westacott. “At this stage there is no indication of further travel bans, nor is there any indication that Formula One and the teams will not be arriving as usual.

“Formula One has again confirmed overnight that the Australian Grand Prix is going ahead.”

The Australian government confirmed its first death related to Covid-19 on Sunday and the latest figures show 30 reported cases, 15 of which have already recovered. But the fear is that by welcoming an event on the scale of the opening F1 race of the season, Australia opens itself up to the virus being brought into the country and spreading it much more rapidly than its current rate.

The arrival of the F1 paddock poses further problems given that Ferrari’s base in Maranello lies within the infected northern regions that have been listed for quarantine by many countries worldwide, while tyre suppliers Pirelli are also based in the north in the city of Milan. AlphaTauri, the newly-rebranded Toro Rosso outfit for the 2020 season, are also based north of the Pisa-Florence-Rimini cut-off that the government has set in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Should the new season get underway as scheduled, the team will fly from Australia straight to Bahrain for the second round a week later, with the Arab state confirming 47 total cases of coronavirus according to the ministry of health.

Flights to and from Dubai have resumed after being suspended last week, although schools remain shut and travel from Iran remains banned.

Nearby Qatar made the decision in accordance with MotoGP organisers Dorna to call off the opening race of the season this weekend, although both the Moto2 and Moto3 events will go ahead as planned as both teams and riders were already at the Losail Circuit last week for testing, whereas the MotoGP paddock had already returned home from their test last month.

Dorna also confirmed the cancellation of the second round of the season in Thailand after the government ruled the Buriram event unsafe to stage. A MotoGP statement read: “Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the decision has been taken to postpone the Thai GP.

“As the global outbreak of coronavirus continues to develop, the Thai government has communicated that it won’t be possible to hold the OR Thailand Grand Prix on its original date. The FIM, IRTA and Dorna therefore regret to announce that the event, due to be held on the 22nd of March in Buriram, has been postponed.

“The FIM, IRTA and Dorna are currently evaluating if an alternative date is possible for the event later this season.”