Formula 1 season opener in Australia called off

The season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix has been cancelled.

The decision was made after McLaren pulled out of the race in Melbourne when one of their team members tested positive for COVID-19.

Qualifying was meant to take place in the early hours of Saturday (UAE time).

Formula 1 and the FIA, with the full support of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC), have taken the decision that all Formula 1 activity for the Australian Grand Prix is cancelled pic.twitter.com/rHbc7hlNvH

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 12, 2020

The Chinese Grand Prix, which was scheduled for April, has already been postponed while the event in Bahrain on March 22 will go ahead without spectators.

There are also doubts about next month's race in Vietnam due to its quarantine measures.