HamiltonHam teststest positivepos for Covid-19Cov
World champion Lewis Hamilton said he was devastated to miss this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain having tested positive for coronavirus. Hamilton, who on Sunday won the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first of back- toback races in the Gulf state, has already secured a record-equalling seventh world championship this season. “I am devastated that I won’t be racing this weekend,” he said in a statement.
“Since we started the season in June my team and I have been taking all the precautions we w possibly can and following the th regulations everywhere we have h been in order to stay safe. Unfortunately, even though I returned three negative results th this past week, I woke up yesterday morning with mild symptoms and re requested another test which came back positive. I have immediately gone into self-isolation for 10 days.”
Hamilton faces a tight race to be able to compete in the seasonending finale in Abu Dhabi the fo following weekend. Due to strict Covid-19 rules in Abu Dhabi, all personnel involved in the F1 event must travel from Bahrain on December 7.
Yas Island, where the race is b being staged on 13 December, will th then effectively be locked down. ““I am gutted not to be able to race th this weekend but my priority is to fo follow the protocols and advice to p protect others,” said Hamilton. Hamilton ( 35) sealed his seventh title in Turkey two races ago to equal the all-time record of Michael Schumacher.
He then cruised to his 11th win this year and record-increasing 95th victory on Sunday in a race overshadowed by Romain Grosjean’s horrific crash, which left the Frenchman receiving hospital treatment for burns after his car exploded in flames after ploughing into a barrier.
“It was such a shocking image to see,” said Hamilton, who like all of the drivers had a near 90-minute wait for the restart after the opening-lap crash.
Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were having to “live like hermits” earlier this season to avoid Covid- 19, revealed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after the team recorded two positive cases at the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany in October.