Two more Haas team members tested for Covid-19

If tests come back positive Guenther Steiner will be forced by the Health Minister to quarantine the entire Haas team

More Formula One team members have been tested for the coronavirus at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, as further doubt was cast on the running of this weekend’s race. No results have yet been made available. Two members of the Haas team and one from McLaren, who were identified with fever symptoms on Wednesday, underwent tests for the coronavirus before going into self-isolation.

On Thursday morning Guenther Steiner, the team principal of Haas, confirmed that two more members of his team had shown symptoms and undergone a test before leaving the circuit, while the deputy chief health officer of Victoria, Annaliese van Diemen, later said a total of eight people from various teams had now been tested.

Steiner expects the results from Wednesday’s tests to be available on Thursday afternoon but McLaren warned that the results could take anything between 24 and 72 hours to be distributed. An FIA representative explained that Melbourne has only one facility for testing for the virus, that can only process 500 cases at a time and is currently dealing with a backlog.

Van Diemen stated if any were to return positive results, their close contacts would be placed into “immediate quarantine". This would have a huge impact on the ability of any team to function. Mechanics and engineers are in all work in close proximity to one another and to drivers. Van Diemen said the test results had been made a priority.

She added that if the tests were positive, it would be a matter for the chief health officer and the health minister to decide if the event could go ahead. “It will depend on how many people have tested positive and how many potential contacts they may have exposed in the days running up to their illness," she said.