Health official says Zandvoort race can ’go ahead’

Dutch public health chief Sjaak de Gouw says he is not worried that the first European race of F1’s 2020 season at Zandvoort will be cancelled.

A dark cloud caused by the coronavirus crisis is now hanging over the first three flyaway races of the season in Australia, Bahrain and Vietnam.

After that, F1 returns to Europe and de Gouw, director of the Netherlands’ national health board GGD, is confident Zandvoort will go ahead.

"The situation at the moment is that the (Dutch public health agency) RIVM and the GGD see no reason not to let the grand prix go ahead," he told F1 Maximaal.

"We do advise all event organisers to pay extra attention to hygiene measures and information.

"The threat of contamination that is present in the Netherlands will play an important role, but the threat is currently so low that any consideration will lead to the conclusion that all events can continue for the time being," de Gouw added.

"If the virus spreads much further and more freely in the Netherlands or internationally in the coming month, this could change. But if I was a fan, I would go to the race."

Finally, de Gouw said the situation would be very different if the threat was posed not by coronavirus but by Ebola, which is "much more deadly".