Ferrari shuts down production because of ongoing coronavirus crisis

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel will not be in action until at least May

(Web Desk) - Ferrari has shut down production at its Formula 1 and road-car factories in Italy for two weeks as a result of the coronavirus crisis. It is part of a wider lockdown that began last week across badly-hit Italy.

Ferrari said the decision had been made "for its employees’ wellbeing".

Chief executive officer Louis Camilleri said: "It is out of our respect for them, their peace of mind and of their families that we have decided on this course of action."

Staff who have laptops and the possibility to continue to work from home will do so, with Ferrari planning on being shut down until 27 March.

Italy is the worst affected country in Europe, with over 1,440 deaths so far. Other F1 teams are carrying on working for now, despite the uncertainty over when the season will start this year.

Mercedes’ two F1 factories in the UK will continue normal operations but all team members returning from Melbourne will self-isolate for 14 days.

Ferrari’s decision comes after the F1 season was suspended following the cancellation of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

A decision to postpone the succeeding Bahrain and Vietnam races followed hours after the Melbourne race was called off on Friday morning in Australia. The Chinese Grand Prix, which had been scheduled to be the fourth event of the season, was postponed in February.