Sergio Perez believes F1 drivers should be allowed to race with Covid-19 as long as the symptoms are not severe
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ByEurosport
Updated 17/03/2022 at 17:41 GMT
Sergio Perez believes Formula One drivers should be allowed to race even if they have Covid-19. Sebastian Vettel has been ruled out of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after testing positive for the virus the night before Friday's first practice. Vettel is the second Formula One driver this week to test positive for Covid-19. Daniel Ricciardo was forced to missed McLaren's final test.
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Sergio Perez believes Formula One drivers should be able to race with Covid-19 as long as they do not have severe symptoms.
Red Bull driver Perez, who missed two races in 2020 due to testing positive for Covid-19, says that contracting the virus should not necessarily mean you are automatically banned from racing.
"Going forward we should discuss whether we allow the drivers to race if the symptoms are mild," the Mexican told reporters.
"The drivers can obviously be the judge, but I think it makes sense to have a discussion.
"There is only so much you can do... I think it's just luck-dependent. It is difficult to not do anything. I'm just very sorry for Seb and for Daniel, but it can happen to anyone."
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz says he finds it difficult to remain disciplined in and around the paddock now that Covid-19 restrictions have eased around the world.
“I’m not going to lie, it is tiring and it is tough for two years to still do the same things,” he said.
"Some things I got used to it, some things I still struggle with, like to wear the mask at all times.
"I just hope we can get back to normality as soon as possible because I also, it might be a bit controversial, but I think that we need to kind of move on a bit and get on with life.
"It’s unfortunate for the other drivers and it could be me at some point, but it’s really tough to stay as disciplined as we’ve always been.
"Obviously if I have the chance to fight for bigger things this year, I will need to be but I am in two minds. At the same time I want everyone to move on and to stop thinking about Covid. I’m in two minds, I’m 50-50."
His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc believes F1 drivers must still be cautious around Covid-19.
"As much as things are slowly getting back to normality, they are still cautions that we need to take," he said.
"We need to be cautious between drivers and all of these things because Covid has not disappeared from one day to the other.
"And if you have Covid, you cannot race, so it’s very costly. So we still need to be very careful."
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