Australian F1 Grand Prix cancelled because of Covid-19

The Victorian Sports minister has confirmed the sad news the about the Australian F1 Grand Prix due to be held later this year.

The Victorian government has confirmed the Australian F1 Grand Prix scheduled for November has been cancelled, taking a swipe at the federal government’s vaccine rollout in the process. The Australian Moto GP has also been cancelled.

Victorian Sports minister Martin Pakula said the decision was due to the “slower-than-forecast rollout of the Commonwealth vaccination program” and caps on international arrivals.

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The Albert Part Formula 1 race was set to take place for November 21 while the Moto GP at Phillip Island was scheduled for October 24.

Mr Pakula said “it’s very disappointing that these much-loved events can’t proceed but this is the reality of the pandemic”.

“Until we get much higher vaccination rates we cannot return to normal settings.”

He said the state government was “getting to work on plans for 2022 immediately”.

F1 organisers weren’t satisfied that drivers and their teams would be able to travel safely into Australia to hold the event.

Mr Pakula said the decision was made more difficult because Formula One and MotoGP “legitimately” required guarantees about the event by this week.

“I take no issue with the fact that those organisations needed that assurance this week,” he said.

“They need to plan and they need to have contingencies in place.

“Fundamentally, F1 needed absolute assurances that if they kept us in the calendar that the race would go ahead, no matter what,” he said.

The announcement is a major blow to Australia’s sporting and tourism industry.

The Australian Grand Prix usually signals the start of the F1 season but was cancelled last year as the global pandemic hit, and was postponed from March until later in the year in 2021.

The Sports minister was clearly disappointed but said the decision was a reflection of Australia’s current circumstances in the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There’s no one in the government more invested in the notion of getting major events here and supporting that sector than me,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“But I’m also someone who wants to protect the health of Victorians and that means following the health advice, and it’s pretty clear.

“Global pandemics aren’t something that are easy to predict or deal with and yes there’s no question that bringing more than 1500 people from around the world in the last quarter of this year — in the middle of a global pandemic — is a very difficult thing to do.”

Australian F1 fans will have to wait until next year to see Daniel Ricciardo in action. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

In another huge blow, it now appears unlikely Melbourne will host the first Grand Prix of the 2022 season as usual, robbing the city of the prestigious season opener.

At this stage, Melbourne will host the GP at a later date, possibly in April.

The Victorian government insists this latest setback won’t affect its chances of holding a GP in the years to come.

“We’ve got an agreement until 2025 and there aren’t many circuits around the world that are as picturesque or as loved by the drivers and their teams as Albert Park,” Mr Pakula said.

“We’ll be working very closely with F1 to ensure Albert Park is a venue for Formula One for many years into the future.”

Mr Pakula also said the Australian Open tennis tournament is on track to be held early in 2022 as usual.

Australia reacts to the F1 cancellation

Unfortunately, the latest news means F1 fans Down Under won’t get their chance to see hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo in action in the flesh.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews spoke about the challenges of hosting such a significant event during the pandemic at a press conference on Tuesday.

“What I know and understand is that with travel caps (into the country) being halved, with us not yet being at a critical mass of Victorians and Australians who have got the jab — we are a long, long away from that and the freedom and protection and the choices and options that gives us — running big international events is very, very challenging,” Mr Andrews said.

“I think we’ve got a very good working relationship with F1. The question is, though, can what they need, and what we can reasonably agree to — there’s no conflict there — can that … set of arrangements be made to work when you’ve halved the number of people coming into the country, when you’ve got 10 per cent of people vaccinated when you want and need 70 or 80 per cent to have had the jab?

“We’re not at that point. The timing doesn’t quite line up and that makes it very, very challenging.”

Broadcaster Shane McInnes tweeted: “Massive to loss to concede the F1 Grand Prix for a second straight year. The economic impact & Melbourne’s sporting prowess takes a huge hit.

“The Vic Gov’t MUST do all it can to ensure the #AusOpen goes ahead. Failure to do so, and kiss the title of sporting capital goodbye.”

Technology commentator Trevor Long added: “Sad news for Aussies who have worked so hard to make a Covid safe country, but also a sad reflection of how far behind Australia now is in the post-Covid new normal. Gutted.”

Melbourne-based reporter Matt Thompson said it was a “sad day for our city and our country”, and the cancellation was “symbolic of how far behind the rest of the world we’ve somehow fallen”.

The race has been cancelled.

According to reports, talks about accommodating drivers arriving from overseas in a quarantine hub broke down, with the complicated logistics around organising sufficient quarantine arrangements eventually leaving no option but to cancel the grand prix.

International arrivals into Australia need to quarantine for two weeks, but that wasn’t feasible for F1 stars and the huge teams of workers that would be joining them.

Whereas tennis stars did two weeks of hotel quarantine ahead of this year’s Australian Open, that wasn’t possible within F1 because it would derail the rest of the season, with races scheduled in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi for December.

The Brazilian Grand Prix is also scheduled for two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix on the F1 calendar, adding to the logistical nightmare of organising quarantine for everyone involved.

Various parts of Australia have been hit with an uptick in Covid-19 cases recently. NSW residents are anxiously waited to hear today’s infection figures, which could determine whether Greater Sydney will exit its two-week lockdown as planned, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning the coming days would “critical”.

NSW confirmed 18 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, with Ms Berejiklian revealing a decision on the Greater Sydney lockdown is expected on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, Queensland recorded just one new locally acquired Covid-19 case in the past 24 hours. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said today’s announcement was “good news” and thanked Queenslanders for their hard work during this period.

The Federal Government has been widely criticised for its handling of the vaccine rollout, with Australia’s vaccination rate moving along at a snail’s pace.

There was also confusion last week when Prime Minister Scott Morrison said people under the age of 40 were eligible to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, only for that advice to be trashed by some state governments, who claimed there had been no agreement formulated in national cabinet.

Ms Palaszczuk said that directive went directly against the advice of Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and the Australian Medical Association.

Dr Young said she did not want anyone under 40 to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine because of fears over blood clotting.

Originally published as Australian F1 Grand Prix cancelled because of Covid-19