Shortly before qualifying on Saturday at the Grand Prix of Eifel, racing point driver Lance Stroll withdrew from the event and referred to a mysterious illness, which he did not call COVID-19 at the time. Now, two weeks later, the Canadian driver has admitted that despite a negative test before the race weekend, he actually dealt with COVID.
Racing Point noted that Stroll felt uncomfortable shortly after the Russian Grand Prix, but did not test positive for the coronavirus before the Nürburgring race. In fact, team boss Otmar Szafnauer confirmed that it was instead some kind of stomach problem and that Stroll had just lost fluids after spending the night on the toilet.
However, new reports say otherwise.
On Wednesday, Lance Stroll announced via Instagram and Twitter that he had actually tested positive for COVID-19 after flying to his home in Switzerland on the Eifel GP weekend. He claimed negative on the route and tested positive only after arriving at his home, where he was then isolated for 10 days. He says he has tested negative since then.
Stroll’s father and part-team owner Lawrence Stroll also tested positive for COVID-19.
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A recent report, however, uncovered even more criticism of the situation. After Stroll fell ill at the Eifel Grand Prix, he called his personal doctor, Motorsport Reports. During the call, the doctor said Stroll did not have coronavirus, but that diagnosis was only confirmed with a test after Stroll had already flown home.
F1 has implemented a fairly strict protocol compared to other racing series. Everyone in the paddock will be tested and asked to stay in their bladder before entering the pre-COVID-19 weekend to avoid contact with anyone who may be sick. Temperature checks are carried out every time someone enters the paddock.
However, as we discovered a few weeks ago, some drivers were very dissatisfied with the protocol on the day Russian Grand Prix. Russia doesn’t force people to wear masks, and F1 drivers have had contact with many people in their hotels who have been exposed.
Szafnauer defended his team’s answer:
He had an upset stomach and it was constant. And one thing Lance did is call his doctor. So what should I do? Law? Instead of listening to Otmar, he called his doctor. I’m not a doctor.
He’s Lance’s private doctor in Switzerland … it was a phone call. And it was the same guy Lance saw after Russia. You know, he has stomach problems after Russia, we test him a couple of times. Lance went to the doctor in Switzerland and called him that.
Looking back is a wonderful thing, but let’s not forget, he tested the negative before the event. He tested negative twice to Russia. The symptoms were there in Russia.
Now that he had a test on Sunday and it was positive, you could look back. But you must remember then that with the information we had, it was unnecessary. It didn’t even cross my mind: take a test.
He also noted that he tests everyone in the factory twice a week to make sure no one is sick.
Other people in the paddock have sharply criticized their criticism. McLaren CEO Zak Brown said, “I know [Stroll’s] The doctor didn’t think a test was positive. Maybe that should have been different in retrospect. I don’t know who the doctor is. I don’t know if it’s Dr. Mallya, Dr. Seuss was, maybe it was Dr. Dre. Maybe next time we should test if someone has any symptoms because we know how dangerous it is. “
At this point, all teams will be able to do more testing, along with consultations with personal doctors who will be able to conduct a health assessment based on physical symptoms and tests, not based on a person’s reports.
Stroll tested negative ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix and is ready for the race.
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