F1: One Down as McLaren Pull Out of Australian GP

The McLaren Formula One team has become the first to pull out of the Australian Grand Prix due to one of its team members testing positive to Coronavirus. The affected member has since gone into self-isolation, though the team has taken the joint decision to pull out due to the close proximity of their crew over the previous days.

The move comes just one day before testing kicks off at Albert Park for the opening round of the Formula One season.

Announcing the departure in a statement on their social media, the team said that Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl has made the FIA and Stakeholders aware of the move before Thursday evening. Should no other teams pull out it will be the first time F1 has raced with 18 cars since the end of the 2014 season when Caterham and Marussia were forced to pull out due to financial constraints.

“The team member was tested and self-isolated as soon as they started to show symptoms 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.” – McLaren statement

F1 has already been threatened by Coronavirus in the recent weeks as four of the Haas F1 Team were tested earlier in the week, though all came back negative. Meanwhile, both Italian squads, Ferrari and AlphaTauri have experienced difficulty in getting team members out the country due to local and then national shutdowns.

A bigger question now remains over F1. Will any other teams follow them?

The Australian GP has faced criticism by some outlets for not postponing the race due the health crisis, what will be made of the rest of the teams who have decided to stay.

The Chinese GP has already been postponed and the Bahrain GP next week will be held behind closed doors.