Final decision on organising Australian Grand Prix to be made soon

As travel restrictions become strict due to the emergence of a new strain of COVID-19, the organisers of the Australian Grand Prix have announced that a final call on its staging will be made soon. This announcement was made following the reports that it could be postponed due to the current circumstances.

The Australian race was also postponed last year only a few hours before the first practice session because a McLaren team member tested positive, with drivers scrambling to leave the city. The pandemic threw the season into chaos and Austria was the only place where racing had started back in July. The Melbourne event was not rescheduled.

Website autosport.com said about the possible postponement of the Melbourne-based race, which was supposed to start a new season on March 21. Bahrain is set to open the 2021 calendar on March 28.

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The tough coronavirus restrictions in Australia, which would require international travellers to quarantine for two weeks, has been posing significant logistical and financial obstacles.

Moreover, many Formula One teams are also based in England, where cases are surging after the emergence of a more infectious new variant. That complicates matters further.

The Australian organisers said that they were working towards solving the issue.

“The Australian Grand Prix Corporation continues to work closely with the Victorian (state) government and Formula 1 on conditions and arrangements relating to the staging of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in 2021,” they said in a brief statement.

“Further detail will be provided upon finalisation of arrangements with all parties in the coming weeks.”

Construction around the temporary Albert Park circuit is also yet to start and, tickets are not being sold currently.

However, despite the concern around the Australian Grand Prix, hundreds of the world’s top tennis players are set to arrive in Melbourne before the Australian Open. They will start arriving starting from January 15 for 14 days’ quarantine. After months of painstaking planning, the authorities have allowed the players to practice for five hours a day in a bio-secure bubble. They will only travel between their designated hotels and Melbourne Park, which is the venue of the tournament.

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Australia has still performed much better in tackling the pandemic with its swift action to close international borders and carry out wide-spread testing.

Life had been slowly returning to the new normal when the country detected a new cluster that emerged in Sydney last month. Since then, it has also spread to Victoria, forcing them to close down some state borders too.