This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix has officially been cancelled following a confirmed case of the Coronavirus at the McLaren team on Thursday.
Fears have been high all week about Formula 1’s decision to travel to Melbourne, with the Covid-19 virus being declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation as the number of cases continues to rise rapidly.
Initially, most concerns centred around Italian teams Ferrari and AlphaTauri, after the country was placed in a nationwide lockdown to try and contain their severe outbreak.
Instead, in the space of 24 hours, one McLaren team member, who later tested positive, and four other Haas personnel, who tested negative, all went into self-isolation showing symptoms.
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Coming to the final decision has been a saga in itself with McLaren announcing their withdrawal soon after the positive test was confirmed.
That was followed by conflicting reports some four hours later, with the race initially going ahead before most major media outlets cited a vote between the teams after a long meeting, which reportedly supported the decision to cancel.
However, with no official news coming from Australian GP organisers, the FIA or F1 owners Liberty Media, the entire situation was in limbo until Friday morning.
Then, as crowds gathered outside Albert Park, it was revealed organisers still hoped to push ahead with the race without fans present and without a full grid after Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel left Melbourne overnight before teams were seen packing upon arrival into the paddock.
Finally, after the arrival of F1 CEO Chase Carey from a meeting in Vietnam, the official announcement was made.
“Following the confirmation that a member of the McLaren Racing Team has tested positive for COVID-19 and the team’s decision to withdraw from the Australian Grand Prix, Formula 1 and the FIA convened a meeting of the other nine team principals on Thursday evening,” a statement read.
“Those discussions concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead.
“Formula 1 and the FIA, with the full support of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) have therefore taken the decision that all Formula 1 activity for the Australian Grand Prix is cancelled.
“We appreciate this is very disappointing news for the thousands of fans due to attend the race and all ticket holders will receive a full refund and a further announcement will be communicated in due course.
“All parties took into consideration the huge efforts of the AGPC, Motorsport Australia, staff and volunteers to stage the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship in Melbourne, however, concluded that the safety of all members of the Formula 1 family and the wider community, as well as the fairness of the competition, take priority.”
Before the fast-changing events triggered by the McLaren positive test, world champion Lewis Hamilton had slammed Liberty’s decision to push ahead with the race in Australia as “shocking” before claiming “cash is king”.
And just before the official announcement, his Mercedes team had confirmed their request to cancel the event.
“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has today sent a letter to the FIA and F1 requesting the cancellation of the 2020 Australian Grand Prix,” they said.
“We share the disappointment of the sport’s fans that this race cannot go ahead as planned. However, the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our team members and of the wider F1 community are our absolute priority.
“In light of the force majeure events we are experiencing with regards to the Coronavirus pandemic, we no longer feel the safety of our employees can be guaranteed if we continue to take part in the event.
“We empathise strongly with the worsening situation in Europe, most especially in Italy, and furthermore we do not feel it would be right to participate in an event where fellow competitors such as McLaren are unable to do so through circumstances beyond their control.
“Our team will, therefore, begin pack-up preparations at the circuit this morning.”