It hasn’t been an easy ride for the sports world with the pandemic causing all this cancellations and postponing of events. As we all know no matter what the sport there will always be fans and spectators and it just does not feel right if the vibe of an excited crowd is not present.
When it comes to Australia they haven’t had the easiest run where the pandemic is concerned. The country has gone into multiple lockdowns and it has not been easy. The Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in 2020 as there was no hope of ever postponing it for later on in the year. The chance of them having it in 2021 does not look too good either.
It look like they will be cancelling the Grand Prix and broken down negotiations over a quarantine hub for drivers is reportedly the reason. In March 2020, the Australian Grand Prix was called off at the last minute as the virus began taking a hold on Australian soil. Melbourne’s coveted race was initially pushed to November of this year, after COVID-19 put a halt to plans to have it at its traditionally scheduled March time. The hope was to have the event when restrictions would be eased off.
Due to strict quarantine arrangements for overseas travelers that are still in play, the race has run into some scheduling issues. A fly-in, fly-out scheme had been reportedly requested by drivers, whereby drivers, team officials and staff would have a bio-secure hub set up to avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. The tightly packed F1 calendar means that a quarantine period in Melbourne would force drivers to miss other races. CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation Andrew Westacott will be joining Minister for Sport Martin Pakula to talk to media at 3:00pm AEST.
