Whatever way you look at it, it was censorship pure and simple.

Having asked Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nicholas Latifi and home boy Daniel Ricciardo all the easy questions - never once mentioning the C-word - as the press conference was thrown open to the floor TV screens around the world went blank.

At first a 'temporary fault' message was shown, before switching to an entirely different programme altogether.

On social media, when asked why the critical 'open floor' section of the press conference had effectively been pulled, @F1Help helpfully advised that it had been "embargoed".

However, the press conference had gone ahead, and the main topic was understandably the dreaded C-word.

Soon the media had its headline as world champion, Lewis Hamilton, a man who has forged a public image well beyond the paddock gates, admitted that it was "shocking" that F1 was in Australia, that (under the circumstances) it shouldn't be there.

While Daniel Ricciardo opted to remain silent, when asked why he thought F1 bosses had chosen to press ahead at a time all manner of other sports were cancelling events, Hamilton simply replied: "Cash is king".

In three little words, the Stevenage Rocket had summed up what many had felt for weeks, as the sport insisted that it was business as usual, that it knew best and that F1 was untouchable.

As the backlash over the sport's handling of the debacle begins, Chase Carey has denied Hamilton's claim that money was the driving force behind the decision to go to Melbourne and possibly the reason for the long delay in officially cancelling the event.

"If cash was king we wouldn’t have made the decision we did today," said the American. "I have addressed this so I can keep saying the same thing, in hindsight obviously things look different, events evolve situations change we made a decision which given the lead time to come here and hold the event when major events were being held here it was a different situation in the world.

"As the situation changed day to day in some days hour to hour we continued to evaluate that and make the appropriate decisions going forward," he continued. "We were trying to digest a lot of different information to make the right decision at the right time and I think we did that.

"I think we made the right decision as it evolved," he insisted. "I think we feel we worked well with all of our partners to make that decision.

"Obviously we don’t control how various events evolve, specifically some of the infections and some of the illnesses. We felt we made the right decision when we moved here.

"In hindsight you’re always going to look at things differently. So it’s difficult to go back and look at it moving forward.

"In many places around the world clearly the situation in just 24–48 hours is very different than it was not that long ago.

"People were traveling through Europe and the United States, within 24 hours they are no longer traveling between those countries. So I think these are issues that you have to deal with in real time, make efficient, effective decisions and try and make sure you’re getting all the input and expertise you can to do the right thing. I think we got to the right place."

Whatever, Carey might think, the pulling of the open floor section of the press conference said it all, F1 seriously thought it would get away with it, that by not mentioning the C-word it wouldn't happen. That by somehow shutting out talk of it, it would be business as usual. And the overriding factor in F1's determination to press ahead - especially at a time the stock price is falling through the floor - was cash.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 16/03/2020 15:23

"@elsiebc - Spindoctor put it correctly. Oh - and the teams don't miss out on prize money - that is paid monthly irrespective of whether a race is run or not."

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2. Posted by elsiebc, 16/03/2020 14:50

"@Spindoctor You are still missing the point. Those people who work in F1 and benefit from F1 doing business have financial interests of their own. "

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 16/03/2020 9:23

"@elsiebc - Hamilton's comment was directed at the Organisers, Liberty Aussie Government, and the whole F1 Circus.
I'm pretty sure that all those people who work in F1 would be happier to know that their health & that of families & friends is being prioritised over & above the financial interests of those running the event.
Although he is wealthy beyond most people's dreams, that doesn't mean what he says is wrong. "

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4. Posted by Pavlo, 15/03/2020 23:29

"Have to agree, this decision must be made by governments, not sports, providing necessary financial support to all affected.
I doubt it's really more dangerous to have the race rather than let all the spectators (who anyway are there) to go sightseeing around Melbourne."

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5. Posted by elsiebc, 14/03/2020 1:48

"@ClarkwasGod I'm not saying that canceling was a bad idea. My comment is on Lewis' comment. "Cash is king" reflects on the supposed greedy. I don't think that the employees of the security company, the vendors, the trackside hospitality workers, the cameramen, et al, were looking to line their pockets. These people are just looking to pay their mortgage or their rent. Maybe, just maybe, the accused "greedy *******s" were thinking more of the big picture than what Lewis can obviously see.

And canceled races means less prize money to split. How will some of the teams make out with half the income? Will they be able to keep all the mechanics and engineers on full pay? If you have a couple hundred employees with no work for three months and the team has no income, what happens to them and their families? Less shipping, less air freight, less supplies, less tires. It affects all the the partners, and in the end, their employees. The knock on effect is huge. And I'll bet you dollars to donuts none of that is what Lewis was referring to."

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6. Posted by Superbird70, 13/03/2020 18:15

"Not a Hamilton fan, however, he was the only one to give an honest opinion. He is not in a position to make that call for F1 or the FIA. He doesn't have the authority or responsibility to take on that burden of accountability. That lies with someone else.

What would you have said if he unilaterally just decided not to drive, and take the hit on his salary? A privileged snowflake? He spoke his mind when everyone else was a lemming."

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7. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 13/03/2020 17:41

"@elsiebc - surely the health and safety aspect for everyone is of more importance than the cost implications for those few, by comparison, who are financially affected. Maybe your priorities are different."

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8. Posted by elsiebc, 13/03/2020 13:36

"Every employee of every advertiser, broadcaster, team, service provider, etc... will feel the effect of this. Even the temp workers at the venues were planning on the extra money. The trickle down effect will be enormous. And Lewis speaks like it's just about the biggest of the wigs lining their own pockets. Spoken like a true self righteous, virtue-signalling one-percenter.
"

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9. Posted by klmn, 13/03/2020 13:06

"It is, of course, a matter for governments to make these kinds of decisions in time, the Aussie government failed to do so."

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10. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 13/03/2020 13:04

"$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$"

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11. Posted by Spindoctor, 13/03/2020 11:43

"if Cash is not "King" in F1, how does Carey explain the ridiculous delay in postponing\cancelling Melbourne.
The situation is not really that 'fluid': the virus is infecting many countries world-wide, and if not unstoppable, very hard to contain - without draconian population lock-downs & containment.
Sane people would put safety before spectacle."

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12. Posted by Superbird70, 13/03/2020 10:34

"Formula 1 had a chance to lead. Instead they ended up looking like buffoons passing off the responsibilty at every opportunity. A smart decision to cancel Chinese Grand Prix followed up with complete chaos. Hamilton was not wrong in expressing his opinion."

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13. Posted by imejl99, 13/03/2020 9:42

"With worldwide 14 day quarantine enforced, this day to day, hour to hour is hogwash evaluation."

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14. Posted by BillH, 13/03/2020 9:17

"When the MotoGP guys cancelled their rounds, that is when F1 should have acted.

By then it was pretty clear that Italy was (still is) in strife and there was a serious risk that F1 personal based there might not get out.

That was not 24 - 48 hours ago."

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15. Posted by Thunderdownunder , 13/03/2020 8:41

"Actually Hamilton’s comments annoyed me. Could you imagine at a press conference for government & medical officials regarding covid19 they would of been asked what it was like to drive an F1 car? His response should of been we rely on the experts as my job is to drive a car. Instead his comments made headlines which just ramped up the pressure on officials "

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Carey denies that "cash is king"

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