This past week the news was really dominated by just two stories, Coronavirus and Ferrari’s alleged 2019 cheater engine.
On the Coronavirus front - It’s not clear when the 2020 MotoGP will start with the scheduled first race cancelled, the scheduled third race postponed, and now the scheduled third race of the season in question as well.
Formula E’s Rome E-Prix has been cancelled.
The FIA has established a Crisis Cell to monitor the situation as it develops and to guide it’s response as the situation impacts all of the series governed by the organization.
Ross Brawn has declared that if any team is unable to participate in a Formula 1 race due to travel restrictions in place in response to Coronavirus, that Formula 1 would cancel the event.
As of this past weekend the Australian Grand Prix will be held with the Australian Government holding off on issuing a travel ban on travelers arriving from Italy. However, access to the Bahrain Grand Prix is now restricted to participants only - there will not be any fans in attendance.
The quarantine put in place by the Italian Government impacts both Ferrari and Pirelli, however it’s not clear if the remaining Ferrari personnel who haven’t set out for Australia will be blocked from leaving the region.
Despite the previously announced private agreement between the FIA and Ferrari, the drama over Ferrari’s 2019 engine isn’t over. The non-Ferrari powered teams issued a rare joint statement objecting to how the situation has been handled and threatening legal action over the issue. While the FIA insists that their actions were legitimate and justified.
Is Gene Haas going to end his Formula 1 experiment at the end of the year?
Lawrence Stroll says that he intends for the F1 team to be an key part of Aston-Martin’s strategy.
Drivers are once again allowed to change their helmet design whenever they want.
And Chase Carey takes some pretty open shots at Bernie Ecclestone.