Before the race weekend in Zandvoort, Kimi Raikkonen announced his retirement from Formula 1 after the end of the current season. And now that his days in F1 are numbered, the Alfa Romeo driver has suffered a massive blow by falling into the trap of COVID-19.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
Yes, the Iceman tested positive for COVID-19. Raikkonen is the first driver to test the virus since Charles Leclerc, who tested positive ahead of the 2021 season. Now the Finn is also the fifth driver to test positive, just after Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc.
Raikkonen looked quite good during the FP1 and FP2 sessions on Friday and showed hardly any symptoms. However, the latest test report found that the Finn is holding on to the deadly viruses.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
Formula 1 F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 3, 2021 Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen in action during the REUTERS / Benoit Tessier practice
As a result, the soon-to-be-retired Alfa Romeo driver will be quarantined and will not participate for the remainder of the weekend.
In addition, Alfa Romeo is facing a huge undertaking as the team will have to test every single crew member who has been in contact with Raikkonen in the past 24 hours.
Who will replace the Alfa Romeo driver at the Dutch Grand Prix?
That’s the biggest question! And of course Alfa Romeo has an answer to that question. Robert Kubica is the driver who will replace Raikkonen for the remainder of the weekend in North Holland.
Kubica was an active substitute driver for Alfa Romeo during the 2021 season. The Pole was also represented in 3 different training sessions this year, the Styrian Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and recently the Hungarian Grand Prix.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
Reserve driver Robert Kubica will compete in the #DutchGP this weekend. Robert in car # 88 will replace Kimi Raikkonen, who tested positive for Covid-19. 
pic.twitter.com/eK5OCQx5om
– Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN (@alfaromeoracing) September 4, 2021
Aside from the races on the track, Kubica has done a lot of races in the simulator and played a vital role in the development of Alfa Romeo’s 2021 Challenger.
ADVERTISING
Article continues under this ad
Hence, despite the disappointing return to F1 as a full-time driver in 2019, Kubica is certainly a driver to watch out for. So what can we expect from the Pole when Kubica competes in Formula 1 for the first time since the end of the 2019 season?
View history: From drunken gala to dry answers: Kimi Raikkonen’s funniest moments
The post Big blow for Alfa Romeo F1 as Raikkonen missed Holland GP with Kubica called as a replacement first appeared on monter-une-startup.
