Alfa Romeo issued a statement Thursday revealing that Vasseur had recently received a positive result on his routine tests, forcing him to isolate himself from his home in France.
Although Vasseur returned a negative test result and showed no symptoms on a subsequent PCR test, the team has announced that he will not travel to Bahrain according to local protocols.
“Alfa Romeo Racing has announced that team principal Frederic Vasseur will not take part in the test in Bahrain between March 12 and 14,” the team said in a statement.
“During the course of his regular schedule of COVID tests, Mr. Vasseur got a positive result and immediately isolated himself in his home according to the protocols set by the French authorities.
“A second PCR test performed two days later gave a negative result. Mr. Vasseur is not showing any symptoms and is in a good mood.
“However, in the interests of the safety of Mr Vasseur himself, the team, all competitors and the entire community, as well as in relation to French regulations, Mr Vasseur will not travel to Bahrain and be required by the local authorities to continue working from home for the next seven days. “
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The team said Vasseur would remain “fully operational and connected to the garage” during the test, which means that a deputy will not be named to step into his role for the weekend.
According to a joint statement by F1 and FIA, “no other members of the Alfa Romeo Racing team were affected and the procedures set by the FIA and Formula 1 will not have a major impact on the pre-season test this week going on as planned”.
F1 ran rigorous COVID-19 tests in the run-up to every Grand Prix up to 2020, during which all on-site employees had to return a negative result before they could enter the paddock.
The revised COVID-19 protocols for 2021 no longer require testing prior to entry, but must be done within 24 hours of arriving on the route.
Pre-season F1 testing begins on Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit. Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi will split up their duties in the C41 car.
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