The Spanish GP threatened by Swine Flu?

The Spanish Grand Prix is in turmoil as it could cause a greater spread of the H1N1 virus detected worldwide. As reported by some Spanish media, the virus has already claimed a few victims in Catalonia, the region of Barcelona where the F1 circuit will take place on Sunday, May 8th for the race.

The virus was initially detected in Mexico, where around 150 infected people have already succumbed. Although the Mexican government acted quickly by closing many establishments, it seems that the entire world is falling victim to this pandemic.

According to a report by the WHO (World Health Organization), Catalonia is the region in Europe where the most cases of H1N1 flu have been recorded, raising the alert level to 4 last Monday.

The organizers of the Spanish Grand Prix are therefore concerned as the race approaches, which will gather several tens of thousands of people from around the world. One solution mentioned by the German newspaper Motorsport Aktuell would be to hold the race behind closed doors, with no spectators in the stands!

« Everyone must understand that we cannot allow a major gathering of 70,000 people, if thousands of them could be infected, » stated Ulla Schmidt, the Health Minister in Germany.

A solution that can be taken seriously since this is what happened last Tuesday in Mexico: a major football match took place in front of empty stands, after spectators were banned from attending.