Italy closes its borders, Australian Grand Prix hanging by a thread

F1 News

8 March 2020 at 08:02
Last update 8 March 2020 at 08:33
  • Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

The Italian government announced plans to shut its borders in several parts of the country on Saturday night to contain the coronavirus, which has claimed over 230 lives in Italy, with over 16 million people held in quarantine.

Residents in 14 central and northern provinces of Italy have been locked down, prime minister Giuseppe Conte announced late on Saturday. Lombardy, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Rimini, Pesaro and Udine are the provinces in question. Residents will be allowed to travel to other regions of the country but under very strict conditions. This quarantine will last until April 3rd, with Conte telling The New York Times he wants to "guarantee the health of our citizens".

Formula 1 

Ross Brawn has already indicated beforehand no F1 races will take place if not all teams can make it to a certain country. This is very likely the case now, although Ferrari employees will reportedly be able to travel to Melbourne in time before the quarantine takes effect on Monday. Ferrari's home province of Modena is one of the 14 provinces under quarantine.