No closed doors for Australian F1 GP March 09, 2019 by AAP / David Smith

SYDNEY, AAP - Australian Formula One Grand Prix CEO Andrew Westacott says there is no chance of the race being cancelled or held behind closed doors due to fears of the coronavirus.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place without fans at the Sakhir circuit outside Manama on March 22, while the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai scheduled for April 19 has already been postponed.

Westacott says Sunday's F1 race in Melbourne will go ahead as planned at Albert Park and confirmed the Alpha Tauri and Ferrari cars from Italy have already landed in Avalon Airport.

The federal government has announced "enhanced screening" for people travelling to Australia from Italy with every F1 team required to clear customs.

"Not a chance (of the race being held behind closed doors)," Westacott told SEN.

"When you look at 86,000 at the MCG last night, and the footy the week after, we've got to go around things sensibly and keep moving on through life while taking the necessary precautions.

"The interesting thing is the Italian freight. The Alpha Tauri cars and the Ferrari cars are on their way from Avalon as we speak, so it's really good.

"The key personnel are on their planes. Interestingly, the only two people who didn't hail from Italy were Sebastian Vettel, who came out of Switzerland, and Charles Leclerc coming out of Monaco via Nice.

"All the others are on their way, and we're expecting (them) in the next 12 to 24 hours."

However, the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix will go ahead on March 22 without fans due to the coronavirus crisis.

Bahrain, which is hosting the second round of the F1 season at the Sakhir circuit outside Manama, has reported 83 cases of the virus, mostly linked to people who had travelled to Iran.

"Bahrain has made the decision to hold this year's (race) as a participants-only event," organisers said on Sunday.

"Convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travellers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time," they added.

"To ensure that neither the sport, nor its global supporter base, is unduly impacted, the race weekend itself will still go ahead as a televised event."

Bahrain is the second F1 race casualty of the virus. The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai scheduled for April 19 has already been postponed.

A Bahrain International Circuit spokesman said accredited media would attend as usual.

Bahrain has suspended flights to some destinations over concerns of the rapidly spreading virus. It has also asked people entering the country who have recently visited Italy, South Korea, Egypt and Lebanon to isolate themselves for two weeks.

Maranello, Italy, home of the Ferrari team is within the affected area.

But both Ferrari and Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri, who are based in Faenza, will still race in Bahrain because they will be coming from the Australian GP, which hosts the opening race in Melbourne next weekend.

"Depending on where they flew through on the way from Melbourne, there is a process that you go through," the circuit spokesman said of the Italian teams."