'Not a chance' - Australian GP will not run without fans

The Australian Grand Prix will not follow the example of Bahrain in running the event without fans, behind closed doors.

Chief executive officer of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Andrew Westacott told radio network SEN that there was no chance of the event banning fans from entering.

"Not a chance,” said Westacott. "When you look at 86,000 at the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground] last night, and the footy the week after, we’ve got to go around things sensibly and keep moving on through life while taking the necessary precautions.

"The interesting thing is the Italian freight. The AlphaTauri cars and the Ferrari cars are on their way from Avalon [airport] as we speak, so it’s really good. The key personnel are on their planes.

"Interestingly, the only two people who didn’t hail from Italy were Sebastian Vettel, who came out of Switzerland, and Charles Leclerc coming out of Monaco via Nice.

"All the others are on their way, and we’re expecting [them] in the next 12 to 24 hours."

France have now restricted public gatherings of over 1,000 people and northern Italy is in complete lockdown, with movement in or out of the region banned as Europe attempts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Discussions are still continuing over the viability of the third round of the season in Vietnam after the postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix.

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