Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix scrapped over coronavirus - official

AFP: The Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for March 22 was postponed by Formula One officials on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak, becoming the third race in less than 24 hours to be called off after Australia and Vietnam.

"Formula 1 and the FIA continue to work closely with the race promoters in Bahrain and Vietnam and the local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve," F1 officials said in a statement.

It is the fourth Grand Prix to be called off in total. The Chinese Grand Prix was postponed by motorsport's governing body in February because of the spread of the coronavirus.

The death toll from COVID-19 jumped to more than 5,000 on Friday as the number of cases around the world topped 134 000, according to an AFP tally.