Unjabbed F1 personnel face being banned from final three races

Alan van der Merwe, the driver of Formula One’s medical car, was last night facing being banned from the climax of the season after it emerged he had refused to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

Anyone unjabbed is in danger of being prevented from attending the final three races. Proof of vaccination is required in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, while it is also expected to be necessary for access to the paddock in Abu Dhabi.

That could lead to some of the hundreds of personnel who normally travel to a grand prix being banned unless granted an exemption. That would include any unvaccinated drivers, although it is thought all of them have had two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Van der Merwe and Ian Roberts, the Formula One doctor, both missed Sunday’s Turkish GP after testing positive for Covid-19.

It was the second time Van der Merwe had contracted the virus and he took to Twitter to reveal he had not been jabbed.

“In Switzerland (I’m half-swiss) and other developed countries, prior infection counts as much as a vaccine,” he wrote.

“I trust that those countries know what they’re doing, and also respect countries’ more restrictive rules and not travel there. I am fully aware that I will potentially be less employable or that my freedom of movement will be restricted based on my choices.

“That I will not choose convenience over my own health does not mean I am making decisions out of selfishness. We all just want to be healthy.”

Prof Gabriel Scally, president of the epidemiology and public health section of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the Independent Sage group, condemned Van der Merwe’s comments, warning that they could “undermine” vaccination programmes that are currently being conducted around the world.

“The stimulus to the immune system from a course of vaccinations far exceeds the immunity gained from an infection,” he said.

“This driver has kind of proven that because he’s been infected twice.”

Scally also said that the risk of falling seriously ill from catching Covid-19 overwhelmingly outweighed the risk of side-effects from the jab.

He added: “If everyone is vaccinated except you, you’re perfectly safe, but you’re also perfectly selfish.”