Poop. That's tough to believe they would pull out because if 1 person being infected. That could really hurt their chances in the mid field this year.
Poop. That's tough to believe they would pull out because if 1 person being infected. That could really hurt their chances in the mid field this year.
Didn't they say that they wouldn't hold any championship races if all the teams couldn't make it? Do they go ahead anyway since McLaren was able to physically arrive and chose to withdraw?
It is kind of odd that they would withdraw because of just one person being ill. Unless they've been advised to have a larger group quarantined even though they may be asymptomatic for now.
I believe it would be a non-championship race if one of the teams were prevented from attending by travel restrictions.. Choosing not to attend would be a different matter.
wae said:Didn't they say that they wouldn't hold any championship races if all the teams couldn't make it? Do they go ahead anyway since McLaren was able to physically arrive and chose to withdraw?
It is kind of odd that they would withdraw because of just one person being ill. Unless they've been advised to have a larger group quarantined even though they may be asymptomatic for now.
Not really. One person means the group has been exposed. The local group means another group is exposed. So to prevent further exposure- from both within and out of the team- they pull out and isolate themselves. Brave move.
I doubt the FIA will go Draconian on them for withdrawing, I also be that the other team with infected members (HASS?) will also drop out. Note that HASS uses Ferrari engines so will certainly have Italian (or Italian based) Engineers in their garage.
Adrian_Thompson said:I doubt the FIA will go Draconian on them for withdrawing, I also be that the other team with infected members (HASS?) will also drop out. Note that HASS uses Ferrari engines so will certainly have Italian (or Italian based) Engineers in their garage.
From the story linked just a few posts up:
"Haas confirmed on Thursday night that all four of its team members had returned negative results from the tests."
Not sure if this is a good source but they say Australia has been cancelled
Autosport also reports that the race will be cancelled.
johndej said:Autosport also reports that the race will be cancelled.
https://www.yahoo.com/autos/australian-grand-prix-cancelled-f1-155511319.html
Skeptical view - this means that Ferrari decided to pull out, which would have been unacceptable to the FIA.
OK, covid-19 now officially sucks.....
Fingers crossed the IndyCar race stays.
-Rob
In reply to Keith Tanner :
If that's the case it will certainly come out in the press.
rob_lewis said:OK, covid-19 now officially sucks.....
Fingers crossed the IndyCar race stays.
-Rob
Looks like the crowd will not be roaring, just the engines
Interestingly enough neither the official site F1.com nor the most reliable F1 news site ESPN.CO.UK/F1/ are saying the race is canceled. Racer.com, another trustworthy source is reporting it as are the above links
F1. com is usually a little slower than the report-for-money sites.
My read of the Racer.com article is that official cancellation of the Australian GP is yet to be made... hence the lack of news on F1.com and ESPN.CO.UK/F1/
Racer wrote...
“RACER understands the race will be called off after a meeting of team bosses in Melbourne, as well as discussions between F1, the FIA, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and the Department of Health and Human Services. Official confirmation is expected in the early hours of the morning Melbourne time”.
Given that eastern North America is approx 15 hours behind Melbourne time I expect we'll get confirmation sometime tonight...
Cheers
It's official. They were just waiting till the morning local time to announce.
https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/28890364/australian-gp-called-due-coronavirus-fears
This blows.
Time for everyone to head back to the factories, fire up the sims and throw the drivers in there and get them racing. Graphics have come far enough we won't even know the difference.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/season-start-2020-baku-coronavirus/4745255/
Might not have any F1 until June
Formula1.com says the season will start at the end of May. Four races cancelled or postponed - and given the nature of the schedule, I suspect that's the same thing.
Look on the bright side, though. Four races into the schedule, and Williams is tied for first place in the championship!
Keith Tanner said:Skeptical view - this means that Ferrari decided to pull out, which would have been unacceptable to the FIA.
"The withdrawal of Mercedes and Ferrari, although not communicated to the outside world, was key as those two teams supply engines to six of the grid's 10 teams. By the early hours of Friday morning, both had made plans to pack up their equipment and leave Australia, meaning half the grid literally would not be able to fire up their engines. F1 and the FIA waited until 10 a.m. on Friday morning to announce the final decision, citing the difficulties in getting in touch with the relevant people to explain the lengthy delay."
I suspect you are correct.
I don't know the exact source, I'm part of a big email group with friends and one of them usually scours the F1 news and sends us the highlights over lunch.
And with Renault-powered McLaren already out, that means the grid would have consisted of three teams. Boy, can you imagine a race with only six cars?
Keith Tanner said:And with Renault-powered McLaren already out, that means the grid would have consisted of three teams. Boy, can you imagine a race with only six cars?
It has pretty much been that way anyway.
If you're not watching the racing going on mid-pack, you're missing out.
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