World champion Lewis Hamilton is set to miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after testing positive for coronavirus.
The Formula One’s governing body FIA announced Tuesday that “in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines in Bahrain he (Hamilton) is now isolating.”
FIA further said the incident would not affect the weekend event “the procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on this weekend’s event.”
The 35-year-old Briton who on Sunday won the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first of back-to-back races in the Gulf state, has already secured a record-equalling seventh world championship this season.
In a statement from Hamilton’s Mercedes team stated Hamilton “woke up on Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive.”
The Mercedes team “Lewis therefore took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest.
The team added it would announce a replacement driver later in the week. Reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne was already scheduled to travel to Bahrain after Formula E testing in Valencia.
