FERRARI have demanded assurances from F1 bosses that the Australian GP will go ahead as planned.
Staff from the Italian team are due to fly to Melbourne next week, despite the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.
Farrari are demanding assurances that the Australian GP will go aheadCredit: EPA
Italy is the European country worst-affected, with fears growing that team members from Italian teams Ferrari and AlphaTauri, plus tyre suppliers Pirelli, won’t be allowed into Australia.
And Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto wants clarity over the travel situation before heading off Down Under.
He said: “What we will need is simply to have assurance before leaving. I don’t think we can discover when on a plane what can be or what will be the situation.
“So if there is medical scrutineering, we need to know about it and know exactly what it is about.
“We need to understand what are the consequences in case of a problem. Because we need to protect our employees.
“We’ve got a collective and individual responsibility towards them. We need to make sure that before leaving, the picture is known and clear.
“It’s a situation we need to monitor day by day. It’s an ongoing situation.
“We are in full contact with F1 and the FIA to understand the situation, they are in contact themselves with the local governments in Australia, Bahrain and Vietnam, with the promoters.
“So it’s important with them, we are leaving in a week’s time for Australia, that somehow we’ve got assurance what will be the situation.”
Ferrari have already closed their Maranello factory to visitors to help the country get a grip on the outbreak.
Binotto added: “Back at the factory we’ve got instructions which are in place to protect the environment and our employees.
“These are instructions coming from the Italian government, these are laws, so external people are not entering the factory at Maranello.”
Organisers of the Australian, Bahrain and Vietnam GPs all say they are in consultation with health chiefs and F1 and the FIA, but as yet only the Chinese GP has been postponed.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
