McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo is healthy again and can therefore compete as expected in the 2022 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain
Daniel Ricciardo has recovered from his SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection and will be able to compete in the 2022 Formula One season opener in Bahrain next weekend as planned. This was confirmed by his McLaren team on Wednesday, two days before the start of practice in Sachir.
According to McLaren, Ricciardo has now delivered several negative COVID-19 tests and can therefore end the quarantine required by the authorities, which he has had to complete since last week in a hotel in Bahrain. Nothing now stands in the way of his participation in the Grand Prix.
Due to his quarantine, Ricciardo had to skip the three days of testing in Bahrain. His last appearance in the McLaren MCL36 was at the first winter test in Barcelona at the end of February. In Bahrain, Lando Norris was in the car on all three days.
McLaren had reached an agreement with Alpine during Ricciardo’s « sick leave » that Oscar Piastri could be available as a replacement driver in the event of a regular driver dropping out. However, a concrete connection with a possible retirement of Ricciardo in Bahrain was denied from the beginning.
Piastri is not the only replacement driver for the McLaren team. As part of an agreement with Mercedes, the racing team also has access to Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries. De Vries will be in Bahrain next weekend; Vandoorne, on the other hand, will contest the 12-hour race at Sebring.
Ricciardo is the eighth driver in total to be revealed to have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2-. Lewis Hamilton, Nikita Masepin, Sergio Perez, Kimi Räikkönen and Lance Stroll even had to miss races. Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly tested positive outside of the racing season.
