Spanish GP Hits Back at Swine Flu Worries

The Spanish Grand Prix organizers have hit back at rumors that the Barcelona race could be affected by the deadly swine flu virus. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) have raised the alert level to 4 in the Catalonia region, the Spanish officials insisted there is no reason to panic.

The swine flu virus has so far caused 177 deaths in Mexico, forcing A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport to cancel their Mexico City round scheduled later this month. The news came only one day after German health minister Ulla Schmidt argued that a gathering of over 70,000 people could lead to a major spread of the virus.

“There cannot be a major gathering of 70,000 people if thousands of them could become infected,” Schmidt was quoted as saying earlier this week.

In response, the Spanish organizers argued that Schmidt's comments were out of place and assured the F1 fans there is no danger of virus-spreading during next week's Spanish GP.

“In the position of a minister you should not be causing alarm to the population. It's out of place,” said a spokesman for the Spanish GP organizers, as reported by sports newspaper MARCA.

As announced until a few days ago, Catalonia and Great Britain are the two places in Europe where the swine flu virus has been confirmed. Nevertheless, no deaths have yet occurred on the old continent.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is yet to issue a statement, if any, regarding the potential scrap of the Spanish GP due to the swine flu virus.