Abiteboul wary of F1's handling of coronavirus ahead of new season

With the Chinese Grand Prix postponed and the recent news that the Bahrain race will be behind closed doors, as well as 16 million people being quarantined in Italy to try and stop the coronavirus, Abiteboul has spoken out about the problem.

"If you don't want to worry, you have to live on another planet. Abiteboul said on Canal+. "So yes, of course I'm worried."

"My team is leaving while we talk, some have already left. Obviously, there is a global development underway and we are obviously very attentive. We are attentive to all, our teams, the fans, the sponsors and ourselves. But also we are attentive to the message: I think we have a duty to set an example, so we have to find a balance between the right reaction and the show must continue, as they say.

“Sport and contractual obligations are very present, but once again the health and well-being of our teams - a hundred people traveling around the world - is a real concern, but the continuity of business in factories is another of our concerns.”

Frenchman Abiteboul was asked about the possibility of a race without Ferrari due to Italy's widespread quarantine and he believed that would not be likely.

"You have to remember that Ferrari is Ferrari, but there are also two other teams that are involved like Alfa Romeo and Haas," Abiteboul said. "In theory, there are three teams. Frankly, I don't know the articles of the Concord Agreements and what is foreseen in these types of cases, because there are clearly causes of force majeure that should be applied."

Renault junior drivers have been caught up in coronavirus drama, being blocked from leaving Tenerife due to a case being detected in a hotel they were staying in and Abiteboul thinks it is a matter of time before a case of the virus is found at a Grand Prix.

"It is inevitable that it happens, at some point, in a Grand Prix of Formula 1. And what will happen at that time? We also have a duty to take into account what will happen and not wait for events to be imposed on us. It is such a changing situation that we have to be vigilant."