Organizers of the Australian Grand Prix will need to know before September if the Formula 1 race can go ahead, or the Melbourne event will be canceled for the second year in a row.
This year’s Grand Prix is scheduled to take place November 18-21, away from its traditional March schedule due to the complexities of COVID-19. But the federal government’s prediction in last week’s budget that international borders would remain closed until mid-2022 was a worrying development.
The head of the AGP corporation, Andrew Westacott, admitted to SEN that there was a lot of work to be done with governments, health departments and F1: “It is complex to deliver a grand prize in normal years, and much less in a year in the past. that we leave cancellations and COVID exists.
“The current date that we are looking at is around September 13 or 17 from a construction start point of view.
“We still have time to work on those details, but clearly in September we would like to be building because the construction of something as important as a grand prix circuit that needs a lot of safety requirements cannot be delayed.”
The Grand Prix was the first major sporting event in Australia to be canned last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On one of the most dramatic days in Australian sport, F1 fans were left waiting outside the gates unaware that the event had been canceled after a McLaren crew member tested positive for the coronavirus.
Westacott’s comments come after an ABC report on Monday detailed that this year’s Grand Prix and the 2022 Australian Open were at risk due to the border situation.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley remains optimistic that the Grand Slam will take place as planned at Melbourne Park and will not need to be moved abroad.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Tuesday that it was’ premature ‘to make decisions about those events:’ However, I would point out that it is very different to come to Australia, because in most of the countries where they are moving, COVID it is plagued by those countries.
“Australia is not riddled with COVID. So the risk profile in other countries is very different. That is something we certainly want to protect, ”he explained.
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