F1's Carey expects Vietnam GP will go ahead despite coronavirus

Since the postponement of the Shanghai race, there has been a focus on the impact of the virus on the inaugural Hanoi event, given that Vietnam shares a border with China.

However the emergence of the virus in northern Italy has created the added complication of potentially compromised travel arrangements to other events for the staffs of Ferrari, AlphaTauri and Pirelli.

Yesterday Bahrain stopped all flights to and from Dubai - and if that continues until March, it would mean issues for the many F1 team members and others who are currently booked to fly from Melbourne to Bahrain via Dubai on Emirates.

A statement today from the Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation confirmed that the race is going ahead as planned.

"Preparations for the race are going according to the set schedule," said CEO Le Ngoc Chi.

"The F1 race in Hanoi in 2020 will take place as planned. We are of course monitoring the situation closely and will notify customers and media should there be any changes."

Carey backed up the local promoter, noting that he intends to visit the country next month after the Australian GP.

• Coronavirus impacting motorsport
• Ferrari restricts factory access/travel in response to coronavirus
• SRO prepared for Monza GTWCE cancellation over coronavirus outbreak
• Two-day late-season China F1 GP being considered
• Brown: Formula 1 will monitor ongoing coronavirus status in Vietnam
• F1 and FIA accept promoter's request to postpone 2020 Chinese GP
• FE postpones Sanya race over coronavirus outbreak, no new date set

"We do plan to proceed with the race," he said in a call with Wall Street analysts.

"All systems are go."

Carey (below) said F1 is in touch with race promoters and health experts around the world.

"Obviously a country like Italy wasn't really on the radar a few days ago, and now it is," he added.

"By and large it's a process. We're actively engaged with all the events upcoming, I guess particularly the more current ones, to get perspective from within countries.

"Some of it is logistics. Bahrain just added [restrictions] for people coming from a number of cities.

"Part of what we can plan is to make sure we have flexibility and options in place to look at logistic issues in getting to and from races.

"Other than China, I guess there is a particular focus on the races at the beginning of the year. We're heading to Melbourne, heading to Bahrain, heading to Hanoi, although to state the obvious we've got to see what evolves in the coming days."

Carey added that if a new date isn't found for China, F1 will not keep the host fee from the organisers.

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams admitted that travel arrangements were being monitored "on a day-by-day basis".

"It's obviously a serious issue that probably all businesses are dealing with at the moment," she said.

"We're absolutely looking at all the advice that's coming out from the relevant authorities, and that advice is changing day by day.

"So it's a work in progress at the moment. But there are certainly issues that we're facing around travel to Melbourne, what happens with Vietnam, travel to Bahrain etc.

"It's a challenge for everybody."