Mexican Components One driver Sergio Perez will miss Sunday’s British Grand Prix after testing constructive for Covid-19, his Racing Level staff mentioned on Thursday. The Canadian-owned outfit mentioned the 30-year-old, who’s the primary driver to check constructive for the reason that pandemic-hit season began this month, was “bodily properly and in good spirits”.
They mentioned they deliberate to interchange him for the race at Silverstone. With Britain extending the virus isolation interval to 10 days from seven on Thursday, Perez additionally seems set to overlook the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix – race 5 – on the similar circuit on the next weekend. Racing Level share reserves with engine provider Mercedes, who’ve Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez in these roles.
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Each are skilled former F1 race drivers however Gutierrez could be the driving force on name since Vandoorne is making ready for the ultimate races of the stalled all-electric Components E season in Berlin. Racing Level might, nevertheless, name up one other driver of their alternative with Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg – who raced for Renault final season – one such chance. A call should be made earlier than apply begins on Friday.
Perez, who’s sixth within the championship, and a small group of staff mates who had come into contact with him had already gone into self-isolation after an preliminary check got here again as inconclusive.
“The FIA and Components One can now affirm that the results of his re-test is constructive,” Components One and the governing physique mentioned in a joint assertion. “Perez has entered self-quarantine in accordance with the directions of the related public well being authorities, and can proceed to comply with the process mandated by these authorities.”
NO WIDER IMPACT
Mexico has been exhausting hit by the virus, with the fourth highest variety of fatalities on this planet, however a Racing Level spokesman mentioned Perez had not been again to his nation since he final raced in Hungary on July 19.
Components One has began its delayed season with out spectators and beneath fastidiously managed circumstances, with groups working in bubbles and all staff and people with entry to the paddock examined each 5 days. The game had reported solely two constructive outcomes, neither involving individuals who attended races, from greater than 15,000 checks carried out from June 26 to July 23.
“The procedures set out by the FIA and Components One have offered for swift containment of an incident that can don’t have any wider influence on this weekend’s occasion,” the game mentioned.
Components One chairman Chase Carey mentioned earlier than the beginning of the season that the game wouldn’t cancel a race even when a driver examined constructive.
“We encourage groups to have procedures in place so if a person must be put in quarantine, we have now the flexibility to quarantine them at a lodge and to interchange that particular person,” he mentioned then.
The unique season-opener in Melbourne in March was cancelled after a McLaren worker examined constructive earlier than the monitor motion had began.
Racing Level have been within the headlines on monitor as properly this season, with their pink automobile a lookalike of final yr’s title-winning Mercedes and topic to an ongoing protest by Renault. The staff are fourth, only one level behind McLaren.