F1 says racing will continue if driver tests positive

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 04, 2019 Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) and Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas compete during the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)

LONDON — Formula One races won’t be canceled if a driver tests positive for the coronavirus or if a team withdraws, CEO Chase Carey says.

F1 wants to avoid a repeat of the season opener in Australia in March, which was canceled when the McLaren team withdrew after a staff member tested positive for the virus. The season is now set to start with two races in Austria on July 5 and 12.

“A team not being able to race wouldn’t cancel the race. I don’t think I could sit here and lay out the consequences. But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation,” Carey said on the F1 website Tuesday. “If a driver has an infection, (teams have) reserve drivers available.”

F1 teams have a tougher time returning to competition than teams in many other sports because of the dozens of people who usually travel to a race and the regular international journeys involved.

Carey said team members will be tested for the coronavirus before they depart for a race and then every two days. Teams will live in a “bubble” system, likely with “sub bubbles” to keep people apart if they do different jobs, he added.

“Clearly we recognize our sport is one which at times, we can’t have two meters between every individual on a team,” he said. “When a car pulls into a pit and has to change four tires, there won’t be two meters between every individual. We need to make sure we have procedures to manage all those risks as soon as possible.”