F1 and the FIA have issued a joint statement on the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix.
“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, the FIA and Formula 1 convened a meeting of the other nine team principals on Thursday evening. Those discussions concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead. The FIA and Formula 1, 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.”
Where this leaves the rest of this season is still unknown as the next race is scheduled for Bahrain in a week’s time, followed by the Vietnam Grand Prix 2 weeks later, while other sports are postponing or cancelling fixtures due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
We’ll discuss this on our next podcast, by which time more details should have been released
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