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Why FE's coronavirus response is the example F1 had to follow

Formula 1 endured an embarrassing 48 hours as confusion and disinformation surrounding the now-cancelled Australian Grand Prix reigned after a McLaren team member was diagnosed with COVID-19. As world motorsport - and Formula E in particular - has shown, examples were set that F1 could easily have followed

Matt Kew Mar 13, 2020, 2:40 PM

Formula 1 looked increasingly cumbersome as each hour passed following McLaren's withdrawal from the Australian Grand Prix. The absence of meaningful communication and proactivity in the lead up to the race's eventual cancellation sent social media into a tailspin. Commercial deals were presented as taking a higher priority than the health of spectators and team staff.

The silence from Liberty Media was deafening.

If there is any kind of defence to be made for how this situation was handled, it's on the grounds of how rapidly the COVID-19 situation has deteriorated. Responses from governments and sporting bodies have had to be fluid and subject to flux. Even so, F1 looked more outwitted than most.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.