Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
The more we learn about the coronavirus the worse it seems. I think by April very few people will want to travel to China to see the GP, and that may be enough of a motivation for FIA to cancel it. Besides the PR risk it will also be a financial net loss. The have cancelled previous GP's for political violence issues so this is not such a new adjustment. Better be safe than sorry.
We are off on a Med cruse in 2 weeks, and the wife is already considering cancelling. I think major over reaction, but she has the final say. Its not how bad it is but how bad it is perceived to be.
When arguing with a fool, be sure the other person is not doing the same thing.
I cannot see how the Chinese GP can go ahead, the numbers of cases and fatalities is climbing daily so we have not reached a peak yet. I wish everyone in China or anyone who is affected by this all the best and hope that this will soon be "yesterdays news".
We are off on a Med cruse in 2 weeks, and the wife is already considering cancelling. I think major over reaction, but she has the final say. Its not how bad it is but how bad it is perceived to be.
omg tough choice! A cruise ship is a total nightmare for a contagious disease of course. i don't think that's overreacting at all. The odds might be in favour of nothing happening, but the stakes are everything
We are off on a Med cruse in 2 weeks, and the wife is already considering cancelling. I think major over reaction, but she has the final say. Its not how bad it is but how bad it is perceived to be.
Three Dutchmen are quarantined on a cruise ship near Japan. Ten people on the ship were tested positive for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV.
Approximately 3,700 people are on board the Diamond Princess. The infected persons have since been removed from the cruise ship and taken to a hospital in Japan.
"The panic is increasing considerably," the holidaymakers say to the newspaper. "We are out on the open sea and are not allowed to leave our cabin for the duration of two weeks. Little information is given.
We do receive food, but all in all it is a *#^* situation."
The Diamond Princess is not the only cruise ship with infected people on board. A cruise ship is also stationary in Hong Kong. The eighteen hundred passengers are kept in quarantine and are tested for the virus. This was decided because three crew members were found to be infected with the virus.
Also: A large cruise ship with thousands of people is quarantined off the coast of Italy.
Panic is increasing???? This new virus seems to pale compared to traditional flu...
So far, the new coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV, has led to more than 20,000 illnesses and 427 deaths in China, as well as more than 200 illnesses and two deaths outside of mainland China.
But that's nothing compared with the flu, also called influenza.
In the U.S. alone, the flu has already caused an estimated 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
To achieve anything, you must be prepared to dabble on the boundary of disaster.”
Sir Stirling Moss
Panic is increasing???? This new virus seems to pale compared to traditional flu...
So far, the new coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV, has led to more than 20,000 illnesses and 427 deaths in China, as well as more than 200 illnesses and two deaths outside of mainland China.
But that's nothing compared with the flu, also called influenza.
In the U.S. alone, the flu has already caused an estimated 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It seems the concern is because the China virus is a new-to-humans variety. That means that there is potentially no "herd immunity" to it in the general population. Think back to 1919 and "Spanish Flu" and the 50 million or more killed by it. That was deadly because so many victims were malnourished after a prolonged period of war. If the China variety can get in to poor communities, we might see a similar death toll. That's the worry. The likes of forum members here, able to keep themselves well fed, generally healthy and with access to top quality health care are probably ok. Many won't be.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
Panic is increasing???? This new virus seems to pale compared to traditional flu...
So far, the new coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV, has led to more than 20,000 illnesses and 427 deaths in China, as well as more than 200 illnesses and two deaths outside of mainland China.
But that's nothing compared with the flu, also called influenza.
In the U.S. alone, the flu has already caused an estimated 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There's a fundamental difference in how the US and China count the death numbers. In the US, someone had the flu but died for some other illness was included into the flu-caused death number. This makes up a huge part of the total number. In China only directly-flu-caused death was included.
The Chinese gov doesn't release the flu-death number regularly, and the last number is 8 people died in 2015 due to the flu. Obivously you can't trust that. In the US, about half of the people get the flu vaccine. In China, less than 2%. And flu vaccine is currently the best medical way to protect against flu. So, some Chinese expert estimated that using the same method, the flu death number in China could be 80,000 every year.
Besides, like all numbers in China, that "death number caused by coronavirus" is HIHGLY LIKELY being modified. Rumor has it that right now the medical facility is far behind the capability of dealing with so many patients and as a result a lot of them had to go back home and then died before even getting a medial treatment. Their bodies then went straight to the cinerator. Because they didn't get a medical treatment, they're not officially labeled as a coronavirus patient. So, their deaths were not included in the official coronavirus-caused death number. It was believed the real number could be 10x times bigger. And the situation is far from reaching the peak yet.
I don't have anything that can COMPLETELY prove these speculations, but then in China you always have very little to prove againest the gov's official saying. Some guy in China post a couple of videos he shot in a Wuahan hospital and the very next day the police came to his house and locked him up.
I love how so many people (especially on twitter) think that a replacement race or god forbid an event swap could happen.
If Vietman gets cancelled I hope it happens early, so they don't get too many preparations done. It will be a big financial hit though if it does get cancelled.
Will all the Middle Eastern races be cancelled because MERS is still very much active and actually more deadly than Wuhan? Of course not.
The big problem with Wuhan, and the reason we are seeing quarantines, isn't the severity of the virus, but rather that people are infectious BEFORE they are symptomatic. Which is very different from most other viruses.
China should be cancelled as it's the epicentre, but ALL races? Nope.
Favourite driver: Lando Norris
Favourite team: McLaren
Turned down the chance to meet Vettel at Silverstone in 2007. He was a test driver at the time and I didn't think it was worth queuing!! 🤦🏻♂️
This GP will be called off, or that another GP will be strong-armed into changing with them, the fact that the customs authorities in China have been getting more officious over the years, hence why the Shanghai date is a clear fortnight away from another event either side of that date. I read something 5 or 6 years ago it was taking 2 days to clear the customs there, and now its close to double that i hear.
However, i do think, with the trend with this virus, and if the authorities in China are misreporting the numbers, this could become a global health emergency quicker. I think that the F1 calendar will be affected much more than just the Chinese date, I'll say the Vietnam date could look doubtful. And Australia will also look flakey soon if the spread of this virus spreads outside China with the doubling every 6-7 days as the data says. Nations will soon take the decision to self quarantine, or self quarantine from certain countries. The model i have, and if i have used the 'correct' figures correctly, that sometime today we will have half a million infections in China and 68,000 dead, not the 34,000+ and the 719 that is the present figure. We do know that he Chinese Communist Party are trying to take back control on Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms. I may be a little tinfoil hat on this.
The next 14 days, maybe even 7 will be the crunch for many dates. We could see Bahrain being the first date, then Zandvoort and after that who knows.
If this is the case, i can see all the teams look towards tracks in Europe who can host them for 4 days testing with two test sessions being planned. However, the teams can ship all their gear at minimum of 6 weeks before the GP, but they would like to send this 9 weeks before as it is cheaper and also allows them more of a buffer to clear customs in China, that cost off is a week on Monday, or 16th of February. The teams, Pirelli, FIA and FOM need to come to a decision. Otherwise, I think that the decision will be made for them by the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, Pirelli, Renault, Red Bull and McLaren who will prevent their staff from going to China, or any other country close to the epicentre via a corporate ban.
The teams will also have to think carefully about how many staff they send on specific flights, as many teams travel together, also stay together in hotels. It may be asinine to suggest that many of them will look to segment their teams, sending half on one flight via one carrier, and half on another flight via another carrier or for those who know enough about aviation, even on different waves via the same carrier or different carriers. It would also be good to suggest that they will, like they did when the circus went to India, travel with excess engineers and mechanics as well in order to avoid the "Delhi Belly" as it was then, this time to give excess resource if some or all of the team is quarantined. Again, cost.
I think a likely cancellation will happen, all it needs is a politburo in Shanghai that is controlled by the CCP to say no for them and it's curtains. Liberty will simply not make a decision, it will be made for them. Since the Bahrain uprising of 2011, F1 has never made a decision on anything that affects a GP like this. F1 has an inability to make decisions like this. It will always leave it off, kick it into the long grass and bury its head in the sand.
It will be a sad loss off the calendar this year as the racing there is always good i feel.
