Green light for Vietnam F1

VIETNAM’S inaugural Formula One Grand Prix will go ahead in Hanoi in April as planned despite coronavirus concerns, organisers say.

The third race of the Formula One season will take place on April 5, the Vietnamese daily Dan Tri reported, quoting Hanoi tourism officials at a news conference.

Formula One has called off the Chinese Grand Prix, which had been scheduled in Shanghai on April 19, because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Vietnamese race was also put in doubt as Hanoi is only around 150km from the Chinese border.

The F1 season opens with the Australian Grand Prix on March 15. Teams are to begin pre-season testing in Barcelona from Wednesday to Friday. This year F1 pre-season testing has been cut from eight days to six, with a second test session from February 26-28.

Meanwhile, Australian Olympic boss John Coates has moved to reassure athletes and spectators that they will be safe to attend the Tokyo Games amid the coronavirus outbreak. Travelling to Tokyo last week for a review meeting, the former International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president was briefed on organisers’ contingency plans for the deadly virus ahead of the Games starting in July.

“It was high on our list of priorities,” the Australian Olympic Committee president said. “On the IOC side, we have been working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) since this was first identified. They’ve made it quite clear to us that there is no case for postponing, cancelling the Games at all.”