FORMULA ONE chiefs are bracing themselves for their first positive coronavirus test since the season started.
The sport was forced to cancel the season-opener in March when McLaren pulled out of the Australian GP when a member of staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Formula One chiefs are preparing themselves for their first positive coronavirus test
It triggered the collapse of the race in Melbourne and F1 was forced to rip up the calendar in the wake of the global pandemic.
An ambitious plan to host two races in Austria has so far worked thanks to a vigorous testing process.
So far, in over 10,000 tests there have been zero positive results, however, the latest 5,000 samples are currently being tested ahead of the Hungarian GP this weekend.
F1 MD, Ross Brawn said: “I’m delighted that we have got the Formula One season going with two cracking Grand Prix.
“I’d like to give a big thanks to and compliment all the people involved in getting us here. Everybody in F1 has been involved in getting us here, as you need every person to behave responsibly.
“It’s astonishing we have managed to get through the whole weekend, for the second successive time, without a clean bill of negative tests.
“There will be positive tests, I’m sure of it. When we do get those positive tests, we have to make sure we deal with them in the correct and proper fashion to minimise the impact they have on F1.
“It’s been a fantastic start. Everyone is so pleased and relieved that we have got the season going.
“Given the pandemic has affected countries in different ways, we have to be flexible during the next six months, but we have a reasonable programme ahead of us and from the example of the first two races, we can have a fantastically exciting grand prix season.”
Brawns’ words come after strict new measures were slapped on Brits by the Hungarian government ahead of this weekend’s race in the capital city, Budapest.
Brits face prison or a whopping €15,000 fine if they are caught in public and not on their way to their hotel or the F1 race track.
F1 teams bulked at the draconian measures and have been forced to tell their team members that they MUST not leave their hotels when not at the circuit.
Many have now delayed plans to arrive early in Budapest and will instead remain in Austria before travelling across the border at the last minute.
It is understood that advance parties of F1 personnel have been ordered to wait for their latest COVID results before even approaching the border.
Lewis Hamilton and other F1 drivers ‘take a knee’ in support of BLM at Austrian opener
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
