Both Red Bull teams and Racing Point are believed to have favoured carrying on with Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix.
Two hours before the opening session was due to take place, Formula 1, the FIA and race organisers officially agreed to cancel this weekend’s event after a McLaren team member tested positive for the Coronavirus.
With the British team immediately announcing their withdrawal from the race weekend, a night of meetings between F1 bosses, the FIA and team bosses followed, resulting in a vote which is understood to have seen a majority of teams vote for cancellation.
Before that point, however, Red Bull boss Christian Horner believed a compromise was possible.
“Obviously, it’s very disappointing not to be racing, but we have to consider the health of our staff and personnel,” he told The Race.
“[At the] end of the day the FIA and promoter decided to cancel.
“We discussed different scenarios; we discussed running with the paddock locked down and taking further precautions.
“The health authorities and the FIA were OK to continue with that if the majority of teams were OK with it.”
Of course, as it emerged they were not but Horner still defended F1’s decision to try and push ahead with the race.
“It was a moving target coming here. If the guy had tested positive before we came would’ve been different,” he said. “But now we’re about to get on the same planes to get back to Europe.
“A shame, but at the end of the day you have to put health and well being of fans, team members.”
F1 has since also taken the decision to postpone the Bahrain and Vietnam GP’s with a possible delay until the Azerbaijan GP in June rumoured as a strong possibility.
And such actions were not a surprise to the Red Bull boss.
“That’s yet to be confirmed I believe, but it’s difficult to see how teams will go to Bahrain,” he told Motorsport. “I think inevitably, there is going to be some discussion about postponement.
“We need to wait to see what the promoter has to say. I’m sure they’re getting it from all angles. They’re more informed than we are of the situation with the early European races, Vietnam, etc.
“Inevitably there is going to be a delay.”
