In the round-up: Alan Jones doubts the Australian Grand Prix organisers will be able to reschedule their race later this year.
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
'It is a big blow for Aussie sport': former F1 champion Jones on cancelled GP (The Guardian)
"My personal opinion is no they can’t run it again this year. If I was a betting man I would advise against it."
"After a member of his team tested positive for the virus, my good friend Zak Brown’s decision to withdraw McLaren from the Grand Prix was definitely the right one. As CEO of McLaren Racing he is also a massive fan of the sport, but the wellbeing of team personnel has to come first."
British racing drivers on show at Silverstone (BBC)
"When Indira Flack started photographing British racing drivers, she wasn't sure who - if anyone - would get to see the pictures. Yet now 100 of them can be seen at The Silverstone Experience, which celebrates the past, present and future of British motorsport, and was recently officially opened by the Duke of Sussex and multiple F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton."
F1 needs to ask itself why it was so slow to call off Australian GP (The National)
"In the weeks to come team bosses, promoters, local politicians and even the sport’s media need to look at themselves. Can they honestly say they shouted loudly enough that the Australian GP should not go ahead?"
Not The... AUS GP by Veloce Esports (Twitch)
Watch Not The… AUS GP by Veloce Esports from Veloce_Esports on www.twitch.tv
The Race All-Star esports Battle (YouTube)
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
— Circuit of The Americas (@COTA) March 15, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
An obvious lesson needs to be learned from the Australian Grand Prix cancellation, says @Alianora-la-Canta:
If cash is king, necessity is emperor.
Claiming that the broader situation was the trigger point when it was the situation within the paddock itself (i.e. that positive test, combined with the knowledge that Covid-19 can be infectious for over a week before symptoms first appear and that the full paddock had already been mingling for a day prior to the test – let alone anyone who was there beforehand for set-up) that, from a legal standpoint, forced cancellation, ignores the role of necessity. Leaders who ignore necessity are unwise and tend to fail. This will do nothing to instill confidence in Liberty’s future response.
I believe we will have a F1 season, but not until it makes some sort of sense to have one. Until then, it is necessary to not have one. If the FIA, Liberty and the promoters of the other grands prix have learned this lesson. I can only hope the latter actually have, because from this week’s evidence, we cannot depend on either of the first two doing so.
@Alianora-la-Canta
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Corey (@dragon86)
16th March 2020, 0:12
Members of the NASCAR Industry ran their e-race today on iracing. They called it The Replacements 100 and can be found on http://www.twitch.tv/podiumesports. Some of the participants included, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
16th March 2020, 1:36
Very nice CotD, @alianora-la-canta. I fully agree.
Building on your comment, I’d like to repeat part of a comment I made yesterday:
And I also agree about the need to learn, and not just give people a free pass on their “unprecedented situation” excuse, here were my views on the same:
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th March 2020, 12:33
Thank you for the kind words, @phylyp, and you are making a lot of sense yourself.
I believe that the Victorian state had people due to be in Albert Park? If so, then the duty of care towards those staff should have overriden the substantial financial “encouragement” to continue. Just as it should have done for the FIA and Liberty. Which is why I feel a mutual immediate cancellation, with equitable sharing of associated costs (not one party paying everything!) and support arrangements put into place. F1 is really good at the latter when it feels compelled to deploy support arrangements, and this should have been one of those times.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th March 2020, 12:34
Also, thank you Keith for the Comment of the Day :)
Phylyp (@phylyp)
16th March 2020, 13:47
@alianora-la-canta – Indeed, this is something I’ve mentioned myself in earlier comments. Agree to park the cancellation clauses of the contract due to these force majeure circumstances, meet around a table, or with a mediator, to agree a proportionate divvying up of costs/losses.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
16th March 2020, 5:49
Currently boarding an Etihad plane out of Melbourne with “F1” and an advert promoting the Abu Dhabi race blazened down the side of the plane. It feels like they’re mocking me.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th March 2020, 12:35
@eurobrun Thinking of it that way… …ouch!
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
16th March 2020, 6:06
Maybe some food news on the horizon
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
16th March 2020, 6:08
or even good news…
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-australia-queensland-researchers-find-cure-want-drug-trial
lets hope at least it’s start if not a complete solution
BasCB (@bascb)
16th March 2020, 13:20
It seems that article has now been taken down – I guess it was too hard to make confident statements about whether this would work @jjohn. But I sure hope the people doing that research can get closer to it in the near future
Phylyp (@phylyp)
16th March 2020, 13:26
@jjohn @bascb – third time’s the charm
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
16th March 2020, 13:45
@basbc I think I messed up copying the link.
The article is still there if you want to see on news.com.au then scroll through to health.
I know its not F1,but supposedly he simply discovered that two existing drugs (one anti malaria, the other HIV related) either in isolation or combined seemed to kill the virus in test tubes and the few people that it was used on (no idea how he got that one through!). But that wouldn’t meet the protocols to say ït works!”, so he wants 50 hospitals to begin trials to see if the results are replicated in a controlled and medically/scientifically accepted study.
@alianora-la-canta sure would be especially as they are drugs that are available worldwide? already, and just need the relevant countries approval to be used for different purpose, IF the trials here are successful
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
16th March 2020, 13:48
groan… I meant @bascb, maybe fourth time is the charm @phylyp. Done with my attempts at typing now
BasCB (@bascb)
16th March 2020, 13:56
Ah, right @jjohn. Yeah, I’ve seen reports of successfull treatments with some anti-aids medications as well as several cases where the relatively cheap and available malaria treatments have worked to help patients (seen Italian, Dutch and German reports, and I think there were some others from China and Taiwan too).
Certainly a positive, as is all the work done to understand the virus and find vaccines ASAP.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th March 2020, 13:57
Thanks @phylyp.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th March 2020, 12:34
@jjohn In fairness, there was a news item about food on yesterday’s round-up, so probably both of your statements are correct. Let’s hope Queensland’s research team has the answer, because that would be great news for the world.
Matt Jones (@mattj)
16th March 2020, 10:00
I found the sim racing quite fun yesterday. Could be a great way to fill the gaps. I’m sure someone at Formula 1 is working hard to get the drivers all signed up
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th March 2020, 12:28
Had to laugh at the part of The National article which charaterised Bernie-era decision-making as quick and nimble. The problems at the US Grand Prix in 2005 were suspiciously akin to the troubles in the Australian Grand Prix 2020 in terms of how heavy and inappropriately stubborn they were.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th March 2020, 13:18
Indeed, USA 2005, and let’s not forget Japan 2014 are both very strong arguments debunking the merits of Bernies quick and nimble desicion making @alianora-la-canta.
Thank you for writing the CotD, I wholly agree that there were overwhelming reasons at an earlier state to do the responsible thing out of care for public health as well as care for all people who now found themselves in and around the paddock in large groups, when that is cerainly the last thing we should be doing currently.
Jere (@jerejj)
16th March 2020, 13:32
No need to even doubt as it’s something that definitely isn’t going to happen due to the infrastructural and logistical-reasons pointed out before.