Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren’s F1 team driver, tests positive for Covid-19 and misses the final day of testing in Bahrain
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Updated 12/03/2022 at 09:13 GMT
A positive coronavirus test for McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo means the driver will miss the final day of testing in Bahrain. The Australian has been feeling unwell since Wednesday and had sat out the first two days of testing at the Sakhir track. Landon Norris will remain in the car to finish the testing while Ricciardo is forced to self isolate until the F1 season opener next weekend.
Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) McLaren F1 Team MCL36 Mercedes is seen during Day One of F1 Testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 23, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
Image credit: Getty Images
McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, after feeling unwell since Wednesday.
The Australian is now required to isolate until next Friday, the day before qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix and the first race of the 2022 F1 season.
McLaren Racing confirmed Ricciardo’s positive PCR test in a statement on Friday evening, adding that their driver is already beginning to feel better and wishing him well for a quick recovery.
The 32-year-old said in a Tweet: “Unfortunate to miss the test, but I’m starting to feel better. I’ll stay isolated and just focus on next weekend.
“Big thanks to Lando & McLaren for the heavy lifting, I owe you some beers (milk for Lando). Appreciate the well wishes from everyone.”
Prior to testing positive for coronavirus, Ricciardo had missed both the first and second day of testing in Bahrain.
The team had hoped that he would be able to eek some laps out of the testing sessions which make up the final chance for the drivers to get up to speed with their cars on track.
The team confirmed that Lando Norris will remain in the MCL36 car for the final day of the official pre-season test.
Not only are the team in a race against time to have their lead driver healthy and ready to compete, they also have the added pressure of trying to solve their ongoing brake issues.
After an encouraging week in the first pre-season test in Barcelona, McLaren have suffered in the heat of Sakhir with overheating brakes.
It has meant that Norris has been restricted in the number of laps he has been able to lay down on the track.
McLaren’s factory worked flat-out to manufacture new and improved brake ducts to solve their thermal management problems, but in the early stages of testing on Saturday the team were wrestling to cool their brakes.
Team principal Andreas Seidl said: “After the good test we had in Barcelona, this first one-and-a-half days here definitely did not go to plan.
“We unexpectedly have an issue with the front axle with the brake, which we have to solve. So [it’s] a race against time at the moment in order to get upgraded parts.”
Seidl remained defiant over his team’s chances of going the distance in the first race next weekend.
“I'm still optimistic that despite the running time we lost and the limited laps we can do that, in the end, we can leave the track here well prepared for the first race weekend," he added.
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