Breaking news
Formula 1
F1 won't have a race unless all teams can compete
Formula 1 says it would not go ahead and host a world championship race if any of the teams cannot compete because of travel restrictions caused by coronavirus.
Jonathan Noble
Published: Mar 3, 2020, 5:39 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
With F1's new season due to start in Australia on March 15, there remains great uncertainty about the fate of the first three races because of the escalating coronavirus situation.
With a major outbreak in Italy meaning that country's citizens are facing more difficulties when travelling to some countries, there is a risk that personnel from Ferrari or AlphaTauri could be denied access to some countries.
While it had been unclear what would happen in the scenario that one or two teams could not compete, F1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn has clarified that the round would not go ahead.
Speaking exclusively to news agency Reuters, Brawn said: "If a team is prevented from entering a country, we can't have a race. Not a Formula 1 world championship race, anyway, because that would be unfair.
"Obviously if a team makes its own choice not to go to a race, that's their decision. But where a team is prevented from going to a race because of a decision of the country then it's difficult to have a fair competition."
Read Also:
- Ferrari postpones Fiorano F1 tyre test
- F1 must be "incredibly responsible" in coronavirus response
- Steiner: F1 will ensure Australian GP goes ahead
One possible scenario, however, could be for the race to go ahead but for it to be a non-world championship event – so no points would be scored.
Brawn said that F1 was working hard to try to ensure that the opening rounds of the championship can go ahead, but conceded that the situation was very complicated.
"It's a very serious situation, so I don't want to underplay it. But we're trying to have races. We've got to do them in a responsible way," he said.
"We're minimizing the number of people in the paddock, we're asking the teams to send a minimum number of people they need to a race."
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 Viber
Previous article "Naive" Racing Point critics "haven't stepped up to the plate"
Next article Mercedes aims to be carbon neutral by end of 2020
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Latest news
Johann Zarco says “I didn’t want to break the engine” after Malaysian GP DNF
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
5 min
Johann Zarco says “I didn’t want to break the engine” after Malaysian GP DNF
Homestead NASCAR Viewer's Guide: Everything you need to know for the season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
19 min
Homestead NASCAR Viewer's Guide: Everything you need to know for the season finale
Mercedes fined for George Russell skipping F1 Mexico GP media duties
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
58 min
Mercedes fined for George Russell skipping F1 Mexico GP media duties
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Feature
Discover prime content
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:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe