Lewis Hamilton, soon to be Sir Lewis Hamilton if speculation is to be believed, has contracted COVID-19. The highly contagious virus that has plagued the world has also made itself known in the F1 paddock. Serigo Perez and Lance Stroll both missed races due to the illness, but Hamilton is by far the most high profile to get it yet. He too will miss up and coming events.
Confirmed today by the FIA and Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Hamilton is currently isolating and is experiencing mild symptoms. Throughout last weekend, where he continued to surpass F1 records as most successful driver of all-time, he was regularly tested with no sign of the virus. However, before he arrived in Bahrain a contact informed Hamilton of a positive result, something that took until Monday to show in the F1 ace.
Lewis will miss the Sakhir Grand Prix as a result of his test and symptoms, and will not be allowed to race until a negative test result is produced. This will be the first time since his debut in 2007 that the Brit has missed a race. There are also doubts he will be clear of the virus before the final event of the 2020 season in Abu Dhabi.
The big question is now who will replace Hamilton? It’s a championship winning car, and a potential race win for the lucky driver given the opportunity to race in Mercedes’ black car. Officially speaking, Stoffel Vandoorne is the team’s reserve driver and will already be at the venue for a Formula E race. That said, now might be the perfect time for the team to test Mercedes protege George Russell. However, Russell is currently driving for Williams, and so a game of musical chairs would first need to be completed. Another option is fan favourite Nico Hulkenburg.
We wish Lewis a speedy recovery, but also look forward to how this interesting turn of events will pan out over the next few days.
Keyword: Lewis Hamilton tests positive for COVID-19