The nightmare F1 was never going to avoid

Despite its defiance in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, reality has hit at the heart of the F1 paddock. McLaren has withdrawn from the Australian Grand Prix after a team member was diagnosed with the virus, and now questions are being posed as to what happens next - and whether this should have even happened in the first place

Alex Kalinauckas Mar 12, 2020, 2:28 PM

Upd: Mar 12, 2020, 4:20 PM

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The world is facing a practically unprecedented situation in the modern age. The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is having an impact - on a global scale - that modern societies and economies have not faced before.

There was no chance Formula 1's 2020 season was going to avoid being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.