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Organiser remains confident of continuing GP Australia: 'We are ready for it'.

Organiser remains confident of continuing GP Australia: 'We are ready for it'.

17-05-2021 12:35 Last update: 13:13

GPblog.com

Last year, the Australian Grand Prix was the first race that had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and this year it remains to be seen if the race can really take place. However, the organisers are confident.

Melbourne is ready for it

This season the Australian race has already been moved from March - as a traditional season opener - to 21 November. Whether the event can go ahead is still the question. Australia has the pandemic well under control but has very strict health protocols and keeps the borders largely closed.

Andrew Westacott, head of the Australian Grand Prix, is confident the race can go ahead. "We are ready for the event, " he said to Reuters. "We are working very closely with the government on every aspect of the COVID safety plans and also the arrangements for the international race. It's very complex and a lot of work."

Second race as replacement GP Brazil

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, only one large-scale international sports event has been held in Australia; the Australian Open tennis tournament. This event could go ahead because all players and supporting staff went into quarantine for two weeks, something that is not feasible with the Formula 1 because the F1 circus is still in Brazil two weeks before the race in Melbourne.

However, the passage of the Brazilian Grand Prix also does not yet seem a certainty with the current conditions in the country. Daniel Ricciardo recently even suggested going to Australia earlier for two races. According to Westacott, however, that is very unlikely. "I think the people in Brazil are determined to host their race," he says. "We want to concentrate on delivering a race here in Melbourne. It's our job to make that successful."