Daniel Ricciardo admits he was relieved that the Australian Grand Prix was called off at the last minute, saying the sport was "playing with fire" by trying to go ahead with the season-opening race in Melbourne as the threat of the coronavirus hung over the event.

The Renault driver returned to his native Western Australia after the event was officially postponed just two hours before the opening Friday practice session of the season was set to take place at Albert Park earlier this month.

The night before, an employee from the McLaren team tested positive to coronavirus, with 16 other team personnel later put into quarantine for two weeks to ensure they had not been infected.

Daniel Ricciardo says he "had some concerns" over the Australian GP before it was cancelled. Credit:Getty Images

Ricciardo said he had been "locked in" ahead of a busy week as the only Australian driver on the F1 grid at home, but admitted he had concerns over whether it was appropriate for the event to go ahead before its cancellation.