McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo admits that he would have had problems if took part in the Bahrain GP with Covid.
Last week, McLaren announced that Ricciardo would not take part in the pre-season test because he was feeling unwell. Initially, it was revealed that he returned multiple negative reports ruling out that he had Covid.
Soon however, the Aussie officially tested positive. This ruled him out from testing altogether, and rumors emerged that he wouldn’t be ready for the Bahrain GP on time. Alpine even made the effort of offering their reserve driver Oscar Piastri to the Surrey based team in case Ricciardo wasn’t available.
Thankfully, the 32-year old recovered in time and will be behind the wheel of his MCL36 in FP1. In the first drivers press conference leading up to the session, Ricciardo shared his thoughts on his Covid diagnosis.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez previously suggested that drivers should be allowed to race even when they have tested positive for Covid. The Aussie responded by saying that he felt ‘pretty knocked out’. If he was driving for his team while sick, it could have led to problems.
Daniel Ricciardo says he feels fine ahead of the first race of 2022
Ricciardo admits that Covid hit him really hard. As a result, he wouldn’t prefer being in an F1 car when he felt that way.
“It’s case by case,” he said. “And if you feel like you could do it then maybe show a little fitness test and prove it. I would have struggled a week ago.”
“I’d like to think if you feel healthy, strong and fit,” Ricciardo continued. “I don’t know if it’s whether you need to pass a fitness test to show you’re in condition to race then maybe that’s enough moving forward. I was definitely in a pretty rough place. I would have struggled and was pretty knocked out from it and that’s the thing.”
The former Renault driver went on to say that it’s the first time he got Covid. He isn’t sure if there are any long term effects he’ll face, but insists he feels fine as of now.
“I feel okay,” he said. “It’s the first time I got Covid. It’s nothing new now to the rest of the world. “Honestly, time will tell but I was here all day (on Thursday) doing the media day.
“And we had a full schedule. I felt okay at the end of the day and my energy was fine. So that’s the first small test which seemed okay.”
