Melbourne, March 12 (IANS): After a team member tested positive for coronavirus, McLaren on Thursday pulled the plug on their Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix participation.

In a statement issued on Thursday night, McLaren said it was withdrawing from the season opening F1 grand prix.

"The team has prepared for this eventuality and has ongoing support in place for its employee who will now enter a period of quarantine.

"The team is cooperating with the relevant local authorities to assist their investigations and analysis.

"Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing and Andreas Seidl, team principal of McLaren F1, informed F1 and the FIA of the decision this evening.

"The decision has been taken based on the duty of care not only to McLaren F1, employees and partners, but also to the teams' competitors, F1 fans and wider F1 stakeholders," read the statement as per www.autosport.com.

The employee was first put in to self isolation after suffering symptoms of the virus and tests and subsequently was confirmed to be infected.

The McLaren team member was one of five F1 team personnel who had been tested for coronavirus over the Melbourne weekend.

Four members of the Haas team, believed to be one engineer and three mechanics, were also tested for coronavirus after displaying symptoms, the report said.

World champion Lewis Hamilton had said he has been shocked with Formula 1 pressing ahead with this weekend's Australian Grand Prix amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

"I am very, very surprised we are here," BBC Sport quoted Hamilton as saying in the official news conference on Thursday. "It's great we have races but it's shocking we are sitting in this room," he added.

The season-opening race in Melbourne is set to go as per schedule despite mounting fears about the spread of the disease, which has now been declared a "pandemic" by the World Health Organisation.