McLaren Racing has withdrawn from F1 Australian GP after one of its team member test positive of COVID-19.
In a major news from Albert Park circuit, McLaren has announced that it has withdrawn from the 2020 F1 Australian GP after one of its team member tested positive for COVID-19. The Woking-based team has conveyed the same to the relevant authorities.
One member of McLaren was put under isolation with symptoms of coronavirus along two of Haas on Wednesday. On Thursday, two more from Haas complained of the same and were put under isolation in the hotel with test results awaited.
All hope was that it was a mere cold but unfortunately the test result is positive for COVID-19 which means the whole McLaren F1 team has to undergo testing and will enter the period of quarantine. That leaves them with no choice but to withdraw.
The statement from McLaren goes:
“McLaren Racing has confirmed this evening in Melbourne that it has withdrawn from the 2020 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, following the positive test of a team for the coronavirus. The team member was tested and self-isolated as soon as they started to show symptons and will now be treated by local healthcare authorities.
“The team has prepared for this eventuality and has ongoing support in place for its employee who will now enter a period of quarantine. The team is cooperating with the relevant local authorities to assist their investigations and analysis.
“Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing and Andreas Seidl, team principal of McLaren F1, informed F1 and the FIA of the decision this evening. The decision has been taken based on the duty of care not only to McLaren F1, employees and partners, but also to the teams’ competitors, F1 fans and wider F1 stakeholders.”
UPDATE: Following the news from McLaren, F1 has released its own statement where they state that they are assessing the situation at hand. “Formula 1 and the FIA have have been coordinating with all the relevant authorities on the next steps. Our priority is the safety of the fans, the teams and all personnel at the race.”
Here’s the last note from F1 regarding COVID-19