The participation of the Scuderia Ferrari and AlphaTauri teams in next month’s inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix could be in jeopardy following the country’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers entering from Italy.
As the coronavirus outbreak spreads beyond China, Formula 1 is scrambling to deal with restrictions and potential travel limitations imposed on the sport’s teams by countries it is set to visit.
Australian and Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have so far confirmed their respective March 15 and March 22 events. But Vietnam’s most recent decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on individuals traveling from Italy throws a massive spanner into the works of Ferrari and AlphaTauri.
The Vietnam Tourist Board today states that: “All travellers entering Vietnam from China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran must carry out medical declarations and 14-day medical quarantine before entering the country.”
While Pirelli’s tyres are manufactured in Romania and Turkey, many members of the Milan-based company’s F1 personnel are based in Italy.
“I don’t think we can discover when teams arrive what can be or what will be the situation,” he said. “So if there are any medical screenings, we need to know about them. You need to know exactly what’s about. We need to understand what the consequences are in case of any problem.”
If Ferrari and AlphaTauri are unable to contest the Vietnam race, it could still go ahead as company documents state that F1 “must attempt to procure that at least 16 cars participate in the World Championship”.
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