First positive Covid-19 screenings in the F1 bubble

The bubble F1 is no longer inviolate. Sport reports this Friday that of the 4 Covid-997 tests carried out between Friday July 19 and Thursday July 10, two resulted in a positive screening. 

F1 clarified that those infected “ were not present in Austria », the country which hosted the first 2 rounds of the 2020 season. 

These are local employees who worked this week at the Hungaroring circuit, in the suburbs of Budapest. AUTOhebdo confirmed that the individuals did not occupy an essential strategic role in the course of the weekend. They were immediately placed in solitary confinement. The people with whom they had come into close contact were identified and also removed as a precaution. 

If the health system put in place by F1 and the FIA ​​has been a success since its introduction, these positive screenings serve as a reminder of the reality of the situation and validate Ross Brawn's recent comments. Last week at Red Bull Ring, the sports director of Liberty Media, warned that we must not be complacent with the Coronavirus, at a time when a second wave is already threatening in certain countries in Europe and when the pandemic is progressing in other regions of the world. 

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) had thus found themselves under fire for having left the F1 bubble between the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix. There Team had received a federal warning, while the Finn had managed to argue that he had not met anyone outside his bubble. 

The majority of F1 staff are living in isolation in Budapest due to government movement restrictions on British nationals. They risk fines of up to 15 euros and imprisonment if they are arrested outside their hotel or outside the circuit.