BREAKING: McLaren withdraw from Australian Grand Prix

Breaking News

12 March 2020 at 11:27
Last update 12 March 2020 at 11:58
1
  • Bevan Youl

McLaren have announced that they have withdrawn from the Australian Grand Prix after one of its team members tested positive for coronavirus.

McLaren's team member, as well as four members from Haas F1, had been spending time in isolation following showing initial signs of coronavirus symptoms.

But the team announced Thursday that they are withdrawing from the race in Melbourne after test results came back positive for Covid-19.

The Woking based team said in a statement:

“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 statement continued.

“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 Formula 1 and the FIA of the decision this evening. The decision has been taken based on a duty of care not only to McLaren F1 employees and partners, but also to the team’s competitors, Formula 1 fans and wider F1 stakeholders.”

Keep up to date with the latest news regarding the Australian Grand Prix and coronavirus here: LIVE BLOG