Claire Williams says F1 "has a lot of responsibility" surrounding coronavirus

Claire Williams says that F1 has a responsiblity to make sure all the correct protocols are followed to prevent the further spread of coronavirus, given the recent outbreak across the globe. F1 is set to travel to Australia in less than two weeks for the first event of the season, with the Chinese Grand Prix already postponed due to the spread of the virus also known as Covid-19.

There has been plenty of doubts over some of the early season races, and over the participation of some teams. Both Alpha Tauri and Ferrari are Italian based teams, and with the outbreak worse than most in Italy, questions have been asked about their appearance at the first few events.

However, despite the doubts, it seems as if the Australian Grand Prix will go ahead as normal with all ten teams present and Williams says the F1 circus has to be careful with what they do.

At an event hosted by team sponsor Rokit, Williams said: “We are in an incredibly serious situation. Formula 1 is a global sport. Not only do thousands of professionals jet around the world, we also have numerous fans traveling to the Grands Prix. As a global circus, we have a lot of responsibility and we have to react to the latest events at lightning speed.

Everyone in a Formula 1 team wants to do what their passion is passionate about - take part in car races. But the bottom line is that people are safe. We have to take this step by step."