Mercedes: The team that changed their mind to seal the fate of Australian GP

The teams had a meeting to discuss whether or not the Australian Grand Prix should go ahead after a McLaren team member was tested positive for coronavirus. The latest reports suggest it was Mercedes who decided the fate of the race after the vote was tied.

At least that is what Roberto Chinchero, a journalist from the Italian branch of Motorsport.com said. McLaren's position was clear, one of the team members had declared positive for the coronavirus and so this team had already withdrawn with certainty.

The other teams that had already decided to leave at that time were Renault, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were even on the plane.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Alpha Tauri, Racing Point and Mercedes all wanted the race to go ahead. Haas and Williams, customer teams, didn't participate at first and then they followed the lead from their engine suppliers. A stalemate was reached.

Until, according to Chinchero, Toto Wolff received a call from Ola Kallenius, the big boss of the Daimler group. He put the well-being of all team members first and ordered Wolff to change his position. With that, the stalemate came to an end.