Formula One's 2020 season is filled with uncertainty with one motor race already postponed and another in front of empty stadiums, and former racer Mark Webber believes there's "still more to be played out".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The international COVID-19 virus outbreak is already making a significant impact on international sporting events although the Australian Grand Prix this Sunday at Albert Park, in Melbourne, will proceed as planned.
Queanbeyan motor racing star Mark Webber, who raced for four Formula Teams and won nine races during his grand prix career, is now a specialist commentator for the UK's Channel Four coverage.
Webber was back in the capital on Tuesday, opening upgrades to the Mark Webber go-kart circuit at Pialligo. Asked about the Formula One coronavirus situation, he said he was not a health expert "so we've just got to do the best for people and their health".
"Sporting events around the world now are being reconsidered and Formula One's under the same umbrella," he said.
The Bahrain F1 Grand Prix on March 22, immediately after the Australian race, will be closed to spectators due to the global virus outbreak.
Bahraini organisers said the only alternative for the March 22 race would have been "aggressive social distancing measures" used to prevent the spread of the virus.
"Given the continued spread of COVID-19 globally, convening a major sporting event which . . . allows thousands of international travellers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time," race organisers said in a statement.
The Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 17-19, has been postponed with no alternative date set.
Motor racing's Paris-based world ruling body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has not ruled out further cancellations.
"The FIA will evaluate the calendar of its forthcoming races and, if necessary, take any action required to help protect the global motor sport community and the wider public," it said in a statement.
Webber said the prospect of races being held in front of empty stadiums was unprecedented.
"Sport is naturally an entertainment business . . . it's nice to have the people there. But do events need to continue without people there? That the big question now."
