Ricciardo was forced to sit out the Bahrain pre-season test after his diagnosis, prior to Vettel’s positive test which meant that the Aston Martin driver had to skip the race.
Under the tight protocols in place over the past two years, there would have been no argument; a positive test for anyone in the F1 paddock meant they were out of action and forced to isolate. Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Nikita Mazepin were all obliged to miss races at some point.
But since last season, as COVID variants evolve into producing milder symptoms, the world has moved on to a general philosophy of living with it. Indeed, the UK government has suggested that even those with positive results can return to work.
The FIA meanwhile has relaxed the COVID protocols contained in its Code of Conduct, and done away with compulsory testing, leaving it up to the teams. And yet for the time being if a driver is tested and proves positive, they are still automatically out of…
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