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McLaren: 'Protocol clear after Australia, but risk of contamination remains'
- GPblog.com
When the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled at the last minute it was a direct result of a COVID-19 infection in one of McLaren's team members. That team decided to withdraw from the Grand Prix immediately. Because of the procedures that have now been set up, the chance of contamination should be a lot smaller and hopefully the whole race doesn't have to be cancelled.
Andreas Seidl, team boss of McLaren, told Motorsport.com that he is very pleased with the preparatory work carried out under the leadership of the FIA. According to the German, all the necessary procedures are so clear that there can be no misunderstanding on the part of the teams.
"The difference with Australia is that we now have a clear concept of how isolation works between the teams. The policy is very clear. If someone shows symptoms we test them immediately in the paddock, we do the same with the people in his or her contact group. We get the test results within hours and then we can make a quick decision on the next steps."
Reality is that the risk of contamination remains
If one or more people are positive, they are immediately isolated, while people with a negative result are allowed to continue working. This should ensure that the source of infection remains as small as possible, without having to shut down the entire race weekend.
In spite of all the precautions, the reality according to Seidl is that there is still a chance that someone will become infected. In the worst case it is a driver, who hopefully can then be replaced. Furthermore, it is important to follow the protocol as well as possible in order to minimize the risk of this happening.