‘The Australian Grand Prix is going ahead’ Date published: March 2 2020. https://www.planetf1.com/news/australian-gp-coronavirus/ https://www.planetf1.com/news/valtteri-bottas-das-melbourne/
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Early races will decide Haas' F1 future beyond 2020 Gene Haas says his team's start to the new season will decide whether or not he commits it to staying in Formula 1 beyond the end of this year. The American has long been clear that he is only interested in continuing to invest in F1 if his outfit can be competitive, and he is concerned about the huge costs being forced on small outfit by the new 2021 rules. With F1 entering a new era, Haas knows that if he continues after this season, he will have to commit for a five-year period like all other teams. In an exclusive interview with Autosport during Sunday's NASCAR race at Fontana, Haas said he was juggling the investment needed to stay in F1 against its competitive fortune. "I'm just kind of waiting to see how this season starts off," he said when asked about what his thoughts were for the future. But if we have another bad year, then it would not be that favourable. "We did five years. That was really the test - we're going to do this for five years, see how it goes and evaluate it and then we'll decide whether to go forward. "I'm not saying we won't be back. It has to be evaluated. To do it for another five years, though, that would be a big commitment https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148522/early-season-will-decide-haas-future-beyond-20
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51727401 Bahrain is instigating special measures for Formula 1 personnel working at its grand prix later this month in the wake of the global coronavirus outbreak. The Gulf state has imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers from countries where outbreaks are most severe, including Italy, home of Ferrari. But authorities are planning an expedited process for F1 personnel to limit the effect of the restrictions. F1 is working on introducing a similar arrangement in Vietnam. The south-east Asian country, whose inaugural race is the third of the season after Australia and Bahrain, has also imposed a 14-day quarantine period on anyone arriving from Italy. This could threaten the race if authorities are not able to reach a suitable agreement with F1. An F1 spokesman said the sport was "working with the promoter and local authorities in Vietnam on possible solutions", adding that the event in Hanoi was "going ahead at the moment". Bahrain immigration and health authorities have requested the names and flight details of all F1 personnel who work for teams, administrators, broadcasters or media who have been to, or transited through, China (including Hong Kong), Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Egypt, Lebanon and Thailand in the 14 days before their arrival in Bahrain. This is in addition to the names and flight details of all passengers planning to arrive in Bahrain via the United Arab Emirates. These passengers are expected to be screened at Manama airport on arrival and if they are clear of the virus will be allowed to enter the country. The Bahraini and Vietnamese restrictions on travellers from Italy are a special threat to F1 as a result of the number of organisations based in the country. In addition to Ferrari, this includes personnel from tyre supplier Pirelli and the Alpha Tauri and Haas teams, among others. A Pirelli spokesman said: "So far, we follow the indications given by F1. So far, these only underline that in Australia and in Bahrain we Italians (plus other nationalities) will face a medical check once landed there. "For Vietnam we don't have any indication yet, except that the GP will be held as planned and it will be with us." The season opens with the Australian Grand Prix on 13-15 March, followed a week later by Bahrain and then Vietnam on 3-5 April.
Latest update from Australia. Mr Morrison = Prime Minister. The Federal Government has expanded its coronavirus travel ban to include South Korea, and added additional precautions for travellers from Italy, amid fears about the spread of the disease. "Mr Morrison said travellers from Italy would face "advanced screening measures", which means they will be asked more questions at check-in and have their temperatures checked on arrival in Australia. The Government has also upgraded its travel advice to South Korea and is now urging Australians to reconsider their need to travel to the country. It has offered stricter travel advice for Daegu, a hotspot for coronavirus in South Korea, and urged Australians to not travel there. Mr Morrison said South Korea posed a greater risk because it had five times the number of passengers travelling to Australia compared to Italy.
This is like an unpleasant cliffhanger, they have just tightened to screw further....latest as of 3, 4 hours ago: possible outright ban on Italians now as opposed to screening and they have to wait till the very last minute to decide, idiotic and uncouth, inconsiderate: https://wwos.nine.com.au/motorsport/aust-f1-gp-in-doubt-due-to-coronavirus/06989567-a055-4ddb-a642-4d4554ae21c2#close
He's the one who stayed with two crappy drivers...and now he's blaming the budgets. What a wanker. He could have had Ocon instead of Grosjean all last year. He could have had Alonzo or Weber or any other has-been, or some new untested fire stick, instead of Magnusen. And lets face it, his man on the pit wall hasn't done anything to be excited about...even Flavio Brattore would have been better.
Wether or not the GP goes ahead would only be a minor consideration for the Australian federal government in their coronavirus plans. The PM was asked specifcally about the GP during his press conference today and responded with something like " wether the event goes ahead is a matter for the Victorian State government". His answer was a nice deflection , because yes, the state govt has the authority to cancel the event, or stop public gatherings, however it is the Federal government in Canberra that controls border security, and if people can't get in to the country then there will be an impact on the event. The travel situation could change at any time, I'm surprised that there isn't already an Italy travel ban, and quite a few people I've spoken to would be quite happy if the government stepped up to quarantine all overseas arrivals.
Zero chance he could've gotten alonso but definitely he couldve gotten Hulkenberg...no brainer swap for Grosjean that. Hulkenberg quick and reliable. Grosjean slow and crashy.
Very minor that is glaringly obvious yes! The politicians are mismanaging this so badly that now I fear the worst case scenario: all Italian team and Pirelli personnel stuck at melbourne airport with no one to take care of the gear in the paddock and the race being cancelled with everyone having spent 24 hours in planes to fly down sitting on their behinds in Albert Park: brilliant...that would be utter disaster. They could have a non points race for the remainder of the grid but it would still be a failure. The politicians obviously don't have a clue about the enormous logistics involved in the GP weekend. They are clearly very ill informed.
We all fear that Ferrari might be affected by the ban on Italian travel to Australia. Likewise Alpha Tauri. It would be a disaster if those two teams were barred from the race. But, does Pirelli also fall into the Italian travel category, and could that jeopardize the supply of tires to all teams?
F1 tyre factory is in Turkey. Italians aren't banned at the moment so with only 6 days to go they should be making their way to Australia over the coming days.
Clear statement by Ross Brawn earlier this week that the race will not happen without the Italian teams. But of course it could be an issue if KEY members are affected personally (like key staff of Ferrari being in quarantine at their home in North Italy), without the whole team being restricted. Don't know whether that's the case at the moment.
FIA drops rule restricting F1 helmet design changes https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148571/f1-helmet-design-restrictions-lifted-by-fia
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/148567/brawn-australian-gp-goahead-not-unnecessary-risk Formula 1 insists it is not taking any 'unnecessary risks' by holding the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, as it is unwilling to shut the season down over coronavirus concerns. The 2020 campaign is due to start in Australia next weekend despite recent uncertainty regarding the fate of the opening events over the virus outbreak. With the championship also prepared to go ahead for the following rounds in Bahrain and Vietnam, F1's managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn says it is in contact with health authorities in all countries to minimise any risk to the personnel involved. "It is challenging at the moment, and we are all facing the challenge of the coronavirus," said Brawn, speaking at a launch event for new F1 partner 188Bet. "I think the key thing is to try and maintain the sport in the safest possible way. We can't take unnecessary risks, but we can't just shut down completely. "I mean if the whole economy shut down completely, that would have a much more serious impact than the coronavirus. But the coronavirus is a very serious threat, so we have to take the necessary reactions." Brawn said that F1 was constantly evaluating which precautions needed to be taken, and was listening to advice from individual governments. "For every country we're working with the local health authorities to decide what is the appropriate actions to take," he said. "All the teams for instance are minimising the amount of staff that travel.
Please Ferrari hire Ricciardo https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/28849554/daniel-ricciardo-keeping-all-options-open-2021-contract-talks
Would love Ricciardo there....and then we really need Ferrari to pull their finger out and make a decent car!