Conflicting reports are emerging from Melbourne with some suggesting that the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix will go ahead regardless of the case of coronavirus that have forced McLaren‘s withdrawal, while others claim that the race will be postponed.
Initially, Sky Sports have revealed that an unnamed Formula 1 team principal had confirmed, following a meeting between F1, Liberty Media, team principals and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, that it had been decided to press on with the weekend and to continue as planned.
Despite McLaren’s withdrawal from this weekend’s F1 opener after a team member showed coronavirus-like symptoms, this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix is set to go ahead.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 12, 2020
However, the BBC have since reported that ‘two senior officials’ have confirmed that the race will be postponed.
BBC Sport – Coronavirus: Australian Grand Prix postponed, according to two senior F1 sources https://t.co/ofvvIIW3PX
— Andrew Benson (@andrewbensonf1) March 12, 2020
The only thing that is clear at present is that no-one truly seems to know what is going on.Prior to the case being confirmed within the F1 paddock, drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen questioning why the decision to call off the weekend hadn’t been taken weeks ago.
Vettel went as far as to suggest that the drivers could make their own decision on whether to race or not, united through the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA).
There has been widespread criticism of the way that Liberty Media and Formula 1 prepared for the eventuality that there could be an outbreak within the paddock, with there seemingly being no plan and no information forthcoming to those affected.
Source: GPFans