Breaking news

Formula 1 Australian GP

Coronavirus scare at Albert Park Hotel on eve of Australian GP

A restaurant next to the Albert Park track is at the centre of a coronavirus scare after a 70-year-old Australian man, who has since been diagnosed with Covid-19, attended a function there on Saturday.

Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley

Edited: Mar 10, 2020, 8:08 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Aerial over Albert Park

According to local media, the man is believed to have been suffering symptoms of Covid-19 upon his return from Singapore on Friday, having also travelled through Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Instead of self-isolating, as per instructions from local health officials, he attended a function at the Albert Park Hotel restaurant on Saturday, which is just to the north east of the Australian GP venue.

An official reopening of the venue has been postponed and staff working at the function have been requested to self-isolate.

The man also visited South Melbourne Market a few blocks further north on Friday morning. He was only diagnosed with coronavirus by a doctor on Sunday, one of 18 confirmed cases recorded in the state of Victoria.

Read Also:

“Extreme measures”

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that he is ready to take “extreme measures” to limit the spread of the virus in the coming weeks – but said there was no reason to cancel this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

“We are not cancelling the Grand Prix next week, or footy the week after, now is not the time for these things,” he said.

“But that time will come, and it is appropriate, just like fire, to be frank with people.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Racing Point: DAS would require all-new chassis

Next article Five things to look out for in the Australian GP

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Charles Bradley



Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1



Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash

NASCAR Cup

NASCAR Cup

Richmond II

Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash



Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”

NASCAR Cup

NASCAR Cup

Richmond II

Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”

Latest news



Toyota fears “big gap” to rivals in Monza WEC after worst qualifying of 2026

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

18 min

Toyota fears “big gap” to rivals in Monza WEC after worst qualifying of 2026



John Hunter Nemechek gets a winning car and Haas gets a B2B opportunity

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Homestead-Miami

23 min

John Hunter Nemechek gets a winning car and Haas gets a B2B opportunity



Francesco Bagnaia out of Qatar Grand Prix with fractures in right foot

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

30 min

Francesco Bagnaia out of Qatar Grand Prix with fractures in right foot



LIVE: F1 Brazilian GP updates - Qualifying halted by heavy rain

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

LIVE: F1 Brazilian GP updates - Qualifying halted by heavy rain

Feature

Discover prime content



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Brazilian GP

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Brazilian GP



How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How F1’s rules got to be so complex



A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

A water park, “not a rock star” and Toto Wolff’s words – Is Kimi Antonelli really a different F1 champion?



Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Filip Cleeren

Why Ferrari must act now after its own 'Papaya Rules' moment

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe