Several big consumer technology brands as well enterprise technology Companies have been impacted by the cancellation this morning of the Australian Grand Prix.

Brands such as Hewlett Packard, Chic (Changhong) Foxtel and the likes of Citrix were planning major events with retailers and media during the running of the Melbourne event.

The event which has been cancelled immediately is set to cost some Companies thousands of dollars.

David Esler the General Manager of TV and appliance manufacturer ChiQ said that he has spoken to resellers who were due to attend the event and that they “were happy”.

“It’s cancelled and everyone has accepted this. The only pain will be a financial one”.

At a press conference a short time ago, Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Paul Little apologised to fans for the sudden cancellation.

“The health and safety and welfare of the teams and people, the community generally, has to take precedence … and we look forward to hopefully being able to run this event at some later stage,” he said.

In a statement released earlier, organisers said all ticket holders would receive a full refund.

“We appreciate this is very disappointing news for the thousands of fans due to attend the race,” said the statement issued jointly by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC), Formula 1 and the sport’s governing body, FIA.

Racing officials including representatives from nine teams met on Thursday night, after a member of the McLaren Racing team tested positive for the virus.

“Those discussions concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead,” the statement said.