Reigning Formula 1 (F1) world champion, Lewis Hamilton, of Great Britain, has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, he would now miss out on the upcoming Sakhir Grand Prix (GP), in Bahrain.
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"Lewis was tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time, the last of which was on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Circuit, as part of the standard race weekend testing programme," an official statement from Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team read.
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"However, he woke up on Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive. Lewis, therefore, took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest," added the statement.
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Mercedes is yet to announce Hamilton's replacement for Sakhir, with Valtteri Bottas already in the race. Among junior drivers, it has George Russell, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Paul Aron and Alex Powell on standby.
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Hamilton is already coming off a winning performance in the Bahrain GP last weekend, which was marred with crashes. Romain Grosjean escaped with minor burns after his car crashed into a couple of pieces and engulfed in fire.
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Hamilton scripted a number of records this season, winning his record seventh F1 championship, levelling the record with former all-time great Michael Schumacher. He has also scripted other records like most race wins, most podium wins, etc.
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