“We had a driver whose girlfriend was infected”- Helmut Marko reveals potential presence of virus in paddock

“We had a driver whose girlfriend was infected”- Helmut Marko furiously reveals that a possible breach of the virus in the paddock.

The safely guarded bubble of Formula 1 contingent is at a risk now, as Helmut Marko has revealed that one of the Red Bull drivers’ girlfriend has been diagnosed with Coronavirus.

Marko did not reveal the identity of the driver whose partner was infected or whether he belonged to either Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri.

But the Austrian wasn’t happy with the situation claiming to have witnessed complacency at Sochi, with many people not wearing masks outside of the paddock. “Outside of the paddock there were very few walking around wearing masks,” Marko told Speedweek.

“We had a driver whose girlfriend was infected, and he wasn’t infected. Another was at a party where three infected people were present, and that was also negative.”

Drivers not feeling safe

Haas’ Romain Grosjean has also complained about this situation inside the bubble and claims he doesn’t feel safe as he witnessed that few wore masks in and around his hotel.

The race in Sochi was the first event where it allowed the presence of around 30,000 people at the venue. Formula 1 confirmed last week that 10 members of the F1 community recently tested positive for COVID-19, but the cases were not linked to the public presence in Sochi.

Since testing for the coronavirus was initiated by F1, just before the start of the 2020 season in Austria, approximately 50,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, from which just 26 positive cases were identified.

So far only one driver has been infected with the virus- Sergio Perez, where he had to miss the British and 70th anniversary Grand Prix, both held at the Silverstone.

The next round of tests will only reveal whether the number will go up or not this week ahead of the race in Germany.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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